Becoming Sailor Moon
by sazbelle
Summary: Usagi never wanted to be Sailor Moon, but after growing up a bit she realises it's her true calling. Follow her as she deals with having to prove herself to her Senshi and having to decide between the man who saves her and the man who steals her heart.
1. Chapter 1 - Intro

AN: This is my first ever fanfic, despite being a reader I've never had the urge to write until now! In my Sailor Moon universe Usagi (Yes, I'm using the Japanese names) is a bit older as you'll see, and it doesn't really follow the story arc of either the manga or the anime.

Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon or any of the Characters.

* * *

Hello. My name is Tsukino Usagi and I am a superhero. I'm not your typical hero; I'm afraid of the monsters we fight, I have zero balance and a distinct lack of coordination, I'm constantly late to everything and I'm not a natural fighter, but I think the thing that defines me most is that above all I do not want to be a superhero. I miss my normal life, I want to be boring and have normal problems. I don't want to fight with my friends about why I suck at fighting and why I'm such a crybaby, I want to go shopping and gossip about guys. Sailor Moon is my alter ego and I hate her.

Usagi looked at the words that were written on the page. "Hmmm, so much has changed", she mused. It was two years later and instead of the naïve 14-year-old, she was now a hardened, life experienced 16-year-old. At least she classified herself as 'life experienced'. How many people can say they've had to grow up so fast? Saving lives, keeping a whole other life secret from the people you love, watching your friends get hurt, killing monsters and saving the world. All in a days work. At the beginning she was confused about being Sailor Moon, why did it have to be her? She wasn't anything special. Then it turned into resentment: She obviously couldn't fight, so what was the point? It made no sense, she didn't want to fight, she didn't want to be constantly tired. It grated on her; the secrets, the arguments with the other scouts, the late nights, the injuries, even though she was self healing – they still hurt!

But slowly, gradually, she grew into Sailor Moon.

* * *

Usagi closed the diary and lay back on her bed. She looked at the clock on her bedside table and groaned. "Ohhhh, Rei's going to kill me!" That was something that definitely hadn't changed in the last year, she idly thought as she ran round the room grabbing her things and stuffing them into her bag. She opened her door and nearly ran full pelt into Shingo.

"Get out my way! I'm late meeting the girls!", she shouted.

"I was just coming to tell you dinner was ready, you're so brainless, don't you remember mum and dad have something important to tell us?" Shingo replied looking smug.

"Aaah, no? When did they say that?" Usagi said looking confused.

"Well they first mentioned it maybe a week ago, and then pretty much everyday for the last three days. I think it must be important, so you'd better let your friends know you're not going to be making an appearance tonight. Usagi you're so clueless!"

"Shut up Shingo, tell mum and dad I'll be down in a minute" She demanded while closing the door behind his retreating back.

_**Damn, Rei's definitely going to be angry now, I'd better call Mako-chan instead**__._ She looked inside her bag hunting for the communications device Luna had given them all years ago. Eventually finding it she turned it on and called Makoto.

"Hiii Mako-chan! I'm so so sorry…." She began.

"Let me guess, you're running late again?" Mako sighed

"Well, actually, well yes I was, but Shingos just reminded me that we have a really important family meeting tonight and I totally forgot and I'm so sorry but I can't come." Usagi babbled.

"But Usagi-chan, you were late on Monday, and last week you had to cancel because you had to do homework you forgot, and before that it was another excuse!" Mako loved Usagi, but she was really grating on the scouts nerves recently. It was one thing after another.

"I'm so sorry Mako-chan, I'll make it up to the three of you I promise, but I've got to go, speak later."

With that she signed off. Makoto looked over to Ami and Rei.

"She's had to cancel, something about a family meeting."

Ami shook her head and looked disappointed, Rei looked like she was going to explode. "Some leader she is! Always late, useless in a fight, the only good thing is she doesn't cry as much anymore. I'm gonna strangle that girl!" Rei let out, seething.

"Unfortunately I feel the same tonight", Mako agreed, "I had to cancel things to come here tonight, we can't keeping arranging our lives around her. She has to understand that she is not the be all and end all just because Luna says she's the leader of the Sailor Senshi."

"Well then let's dethrone her then." Rei blurted out.

"What?!" Amis head snapped up, "We can't do that, I know she's useless at coming to meetings but she has been improving in battles. She doesn't fall as much anymore and without her powers we wouldn't be able to defeat the monsters."

"I'm not saying kick her out, I'm just saying take the leadership off her and make her realise the consequences of her actions." Rei replied.

"I'm not sure Rei", Mako put in "Maybe we should at least give her another chance. We'll organise a meeting for Sunday and if she doesn't turn up again then we'll seriously consider this and talk to Luna about it."

"Okay, but this is her last chance!" Rei conceded.

* * *

Usagi signed off and put her bag down. She went downstairs and true to Shingos word dinner was on the table.

"Mmmm, looks delicious mama!"

"Usagi-chan sit down, we have some important stuff to talk about" Kenji said to his daughter.

She sat down and looked over at her parents, they looked worried. _**What could be so important?**_ She thought to herself.

"Usagi, Shingo, we thought the best way to deal with this would to be talk about it as adults and know that we are all in it together."

_**Okay, now I'm worried**__. _"Papa, what's the matter?" Usagi pressed.

"The Magazine I work at has had to make some cuts, and unfortunately I'm one of them. I have of course been applying to other magazines and newspapers, but there is a lack of jobs at the moment and I haven't had much luck."

"Your dad knows that we don't blame him and that the market at the moment is very volatile. But I am also looking for a job to help support us." Ikuko added.

"Mama, papa" Usagi went over to both of them and gave them a hug, "We know you will do your best for this family."

"Unfortunately Usagi-chan, that is not enough and if we can't find something we will have to move in with your mums sister." Kenji explained.

"But Papa, that's four hours away! Shingo and I will have to change schools and leave our friends." Usagi stated.

"We will meet that mountain and climb it if the time comes, Usagi-chan, now eat your dinner"

For the rest of the meal the family ate in silence.

* * *

After dinner Usagi made excuses and left to go for a walk_. __**I can't leave, I mean I know it's not Papas fault, but I have to be here to fight as Sailor Moon. I love my friends, they're everything to me. I really really hope Papa finds something**_**.**

She was so deep in thought she wasn't looking where she was going and collided with something hard.

"Ow!" She exclaimed

"You want to watch where you're going Odango, you might hurt someone."

_**Ugh I recognise that voice**_. And sure enough when she looked up it was at the smug grin of Chiba Mamoru.

"You are the bain of my life you know that?!" Usagi screeched at him.

"And you are going to make me go deaf Odango", Mamoru retorted.

"Don't call me that! Baka!" Usagi replied.

"What are you doing out so late anyway? Surely it's waaay past your bedtime?" He teased her.

She looked downcast and he suddenly felt bad for asking.

"It doesn't matter, just err don't stay out too long?" He stuttered. _**What was wrong with him?**_

Usagi was oblivious to this train of thought. "It's my dad, he just told us he lost his job last month and he's having a hard time finding another one. If he or my mum don't find one we're going to have to move away." She wasn't sure why she blurted that out to him of all people, maybe she just had to tell someone.

"Oh, Odango, I didn't know. I hope he finds something soon." Mamoru wasn't sure what to say.

"So you are capable of being nice then?" Usagi was taken aback by his nice demeanor and wanted to turn the conversation back round to something she understood. "Who would've thought Mamoru-baka had a nice bone in his body? Well Pigs must be flying somewhere!" She pretended to look around the sky.

Mamoru huffed, but he had a glint in his eye. "Well I don't see you flying anywhere so there can't be any pigs flying about." Before she could retort he said: "And anyway, there's lots of things you don't know about me Odango." He winked at her and walked off.

"Baka!" she shouted after him, but noticed she was feeling a bit better. _**Trust that idiot to make me feel better**_, she laughed to herself and headed back home. He did have a point, it was a bit dark, even if she was Sailor Moon.


	2. Chapter 2 - Clumsy Usagi no more

AN: Thanks so much for the reviews! I thought we'd better get this story off and running so I'm posting this next chapter a bit earlier than anticipated. Hope you enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon or any of the Characters used.

* * *

Waking up the next morning she lay in bed until she realised her alarm hadn't woken her, so what had? Stretching she turned over to look at her clock, it read 09:10. This was early for her on a Saturday. She looked down and Luna was still asleep, giggling she thought **_'Might as well get up early and give Luna a fright!'_**

She got up and wandered into the bathroom, feeling energetic she decided just to wash her face and go out for a jog and have a shower when she got back. She had only recently started to go running and hadn't told anyone. Truth be told she thought they would just laugh at her. **_Clumsy Usagi going for a run? Yeah right! _**She shook her head and tried to brush away the feelings she felt that her friends couldn't, or wouldn't, expect more from her.

Speaking of friends, that was what woke her up! It was her phone, looking under her pillow she found it and saw she had a txt.

'Usagi, meeting tomorrow morning, very important, don't be late! Ami xx'

She put her phone back down and wondered what could be so important. **_Probably just more speculation about where these monsters are coming from._**

She pulled her trainers on and tied her hair back, **_let's go_**.

* * *

As she was running towards the park she thought more about her parents situation. '**_Maybe there's a way I can help them out, maybe I can look for jobs for them? Maybe I can find a job myself and contribute.'_** She quickly dismissed that thought, because on top of high school and Senshi business she already barely had any time to do anything else. Plus she could hardly run out on her job because there was a monster terrorizing people on the other side of town. No, she would have to think of something else.

Hearing someone call her name, she turned around.

"Usagi-chan! Usagi!" Motoki was waving at her, trying to catch her up. She slowed down and caught her breath.

"Hey Motoki-kun! How are you?" She asked, checking him out in his normal clothes, it was rare for her to see him outside of his work uniform.

"Fine fine, I almost wasn't sure it was you, I didn't know you were a runner?" He asked her.

"Well, I don't know, I wouldn't really class myself as 'a runner', but I do like to have a jog now and again. I have to do something if I want to have a chocolate milkshake every time I come to the arcade!" She joked.

He chuckled, "Well I suppose you have a point. Hey, if you're serious about keeping up your fitness I have a friend who runs a Karate class. It's every Sunday morning, but it could be good self defence lessons for you too."

She was about to retort that if anyone needed self defence lessons it wasn't her, but then it struck her, what if learning some karate really would help her out. She could treat it as extra training. It would improve her timings, her dexterity, her stamina and her fighting skills.

"Is it expensive though Motoki-kun? I don't have much money at the moment…" She trailed off.

"I'll have a word with him, he owes me a favour or two considering the amount of people I've sent him. Plus I can always bribe him with free milkshakes!" He offered.

She pulled him into a big hug, "You would do that for me?!" She felt so honoured that he would do that for her. It was such a shame he was taken, and by such a lovely girl as well. She would never do anything to jeopardise his and Reikas relationship.

"Haha, of course Usagi-chan, you're like a little sister to me!"

"Thanks Motoki-kun, see you later at the arcade?" She replied.

"Okay, have a good run, I'll tell Kaiato you'll be there tomorrow."

It was only a few blocks later that she realised it was at the same time as this 'important' senshi meeting. **_'Oh shoot, well I'll just have to reschedule the girls, I can't let Motoki down after he's done so much for me, I'm sure they'll understand, after all I'm doing this to improve my fighting skills, they should be proud!'_**

* * *

After she had showered she got her phone out and txted Ami back: 'Sorry Ami-chan, but I can't make it tomorrow morning, can we reschedule for sometime during the week? Usagi xx'

Ami read the txt and rang Rei.

"Hey Rei-chan, just had a reply from Usagi, naturally she's only just got up, it's gone 11! Anyway, she says she can't do tomorrow morning and can we reschedule for next week." Ami said down the phone.

"Typical Usagi sleeping in, she really is useless. That's probably why she can't do tomorrow morning, she doesn't want to miss her lie in. I'll txt her and tell her she has to come, no matter what she's doing. Senshi business is more important." Rei replied.

"Okay, but don't be too harsh on her, at least she was giving notice that she couldn't come." Ami pleaded.

"Tough love Ami-chan, see you tomorrow!" Rei said hanging up on Ami. She went into messages and started a new txt: 'Usagi-chan, cancel whatever you're doing tomorrow, probably just sleeping in, and come to the temple. You know this is more important than anything else you have to do. Rei'

* * *

Usagi sighed as she read the txt, Rei really knew how to push her buttons! **_Sleeping, puh! I bet I was out of bed before you this morning! _**Her run this morning and then her lovely shower had had such a peaceful effect on her, especially after the news last night, and now this txt had her all riled up. **_Don't they get I have a busy life, I cant always run after them? _**Deciding that Motokis offer was far more important than idle speculation at a meeting where she would no doubt just be made fun of, she txted back: 'Rei, I already told Ami-chan I can't make it. Feel free to have it without me and I'll catch up next week. Stop making such a big deal out of everything.'

She threw her phone on her bed and walked out not wanting to read Reis response. Her mum and dad were out with Shingo, she couldn't remember where they'd gone, only that it had sounded boring and she hadn't wanted to go.

She didn't want to go to the arcade because a, it was too early, and b, because she didn't want to accidentally tell Motoki she'd had an argument with the girls over his proposal. So she decided to do something unusual for her, she was going to go to the library.

* * *

A year ago she would have laughed at the notion of stepping foot inside a library, but the stakes were higher this year with the weight of the exams weighing on her. She had to do well, and to do well she had to research the papers she was writing. She felt embarrassed that people still looked at her as the stupid one. If anyone had stopped to notice they would have seen that her grades were actually slightly above average this year. She wasn't a genius by all means, but that didn't make her stupid. Apparently growing up had matured her mind as well as her body. She wasn't 'stupid, clumsy Usagi' anymore and she was proud of that.

Lost in her daydream she walked into someone and knocked their books onto the floor.

"Sorry!" She exclaimed as she bent over to help them pick their books up.

"Do you ever look where you're going Odango?" She looked up into midnight blue eyes and saw her tormentor.

"Mamoru-baka, do you like stalking me? Do you just stand around waiting for me to walk into you?" She argued.

"I was here first, if anything you are stalking me!" He replied. "What are you doing here anyway, I wouldn't have thought you even knew this place existed?"

"Exactly, you wouldn't have thought, because you don't ever think before you speak, hence why you come out with such Garbage!" Usagi was furious with him, how dare he say that!

"Shhh!" A Librarian came over, "There are people trying to study, can you two please keep it down!"

"It was him!"

"It was her!" They exclaimed at the same time.

The librarian glared at them and went back to the desk.

"Come in here Odango" Mamoru said and grabbed her by the arm. As soon as he touched her she felt electricity run along her arm. He pulled her into one of the private study rooms and closed the door.

"Why can't you ever just be quiet, always shouting", he said to her.

"Mamoru you can let go of my arm now", she replied back looking down at his hand still on her arm. It felt weird, but nice, but definitely weird.

He pulled his hand away like it was on fire. She noticed a red tinge to his face, he hadn't realised he was still holding her arm.

"Anyway", she started, trying to lighten the mood, "If you stopped calling me Odango I might stop shouting at you."

"I'd better buy some earmuffs then because that is never going to happen." He joked. "Seriously though, what are you doing here, and on a Saturday no less?"

"I need to do some research for a paper I have to do for English", she sighed, "I have been here before but I don't know where to find this book I need."

"Which one are you looking for?" He asked.

"We've got to do an essay on Macbeth. I understand the story, but some of the language he uses is a bit strange, so Ms Haruna said there was a good terminology book I should look at."

Mamoru looked at her and said: "That's the same issue I had when I read it in school. I know which book she means, wait here Odango and I'll get it for you." With that he dumped his books onto the table and left the room.

Usagi was a bit shocked. **_Since when does Mamoru do anything nice for anyone except Motoki-kun? Maybe he's just in a good mood today. _**She looked at her arm, she could still feel his hand on it. Shaking her head to get rid of her thoughts she sat down and started to take her stuff out of her bag.

He came back just as she thought he was going to leave her there forever.

"Sorry, I was looking for another book for you as well", he apologised. "I found this one really useful as well. It analyses Lady Macbeths descent into madness. I thought you might want to take a look."

Usagi just looked at him.

"Alright, alright Odango, I should have known you wouldn't have wanted to do any extra reading." He sighed dramatically, tossing the second book to one side.

"No, no, it's just, that's really thoughtful and frankly well, I didn't know you were capable of such a thing." She said a bit dumbstruck that he would go out of his way for her.

"I already told you there was more to me than you realised, Odango."

"Stop calling me that!" She demanded, but she was half smiling, "And thank you for the books."

"Stop gushing about how amazing I am and sit down and do some work." He grinned at her. She was about to retort that he was in fact not amazing, just not as much of a douchebag as she had previously thought, when she decided against it and sat down next to him, determined to get this essay finished.


	3. Chapter 3 - True friends?

This chapters a little slow, but I hope you still enjoy!

* * *

Usagi woke the next morning to her alarm going off. It was time for her first Karate class! She got ready, getting her stuff together and having a quick wash. She felt a tinge of guilt as she picked up her phone, she still hadn't read the messages off Rei from it yet. **_No time to worry about that now_** she said to herself as she left the house. She had directions from Motoki about where she was going, as she approached the building she realised she was quite nervous. Despite being a Sailor Senshi she still wasn't very good at this kind of thing. **_But that's exactly why you're here_**, she told herself. She walked in and saw that it was quite a small class, and she wasn't late for once! She stood at the door looking a little nervous, was she meant to just go straight in? Was there etiquette to be followed? Everyone else looked so relaxed. She caught the eye of a pretty looking blonde girl and gave a little smile. The blonde immediately bounced over.

"Hi! My names Aino Minako, but you can call me Mina. Are you new to the class? I tend to miss a few so I'm not always up to date! Kaiato-sensei should be here any minute. Come and put your stuff next to mine, we can wait for him to arrive." She said without taking a breath. Usagi was a little overwhelmed, but took an immediate liking to the pretty girl.

Mina pulled Usagi over to where she had been sitting, and turned to her.

"Sorry, I didn't even catch your name! You'll have to tell me to shut up when I've been talking too much; I tend to just go on and on."

Usagi chuckled and said: "My names Tsukino Usagi, it's nice to meet you too. Thanks for making me so welcome, it's my first time and I wasn't sure what was going on."

As Mina was about to reply Kaiato entered the Hall.

"Good morning everyone! Are we ready to have some fun today?"

"Yes!" Cheered the people sitting around Usagi and Mina. Mina put her hand up. "Sensei, Usagi here is new and isn't sure about what goes on."

Usagi blushed but Kaiato came straight over.

"Ahh, you must be Motokis friend. Itano Kaiato, pleased to meet you." He bowed at her.

"Tsukino Usagi, nice to meet you too." She was sure whether to bow, or shake his hand or nod. She just went for standing still and blushing even harder.

"In this class we work hard, there is no time for idleness. If you have come here to learn and are prepared to put the effort in then I'm sure you will fit right in." He smiled at her and she nodded her agreement.

"Seeing as you already know Minako-chan here you can be paired with her today." He turned back to the rest of the class, "Right, let's get started.

* * *

At the end of the two hours Usagi was knackered.**_ I can barely stand! _**She collapsed onto the floor next to her bag and swigged down the last of her water.

"So did you have a good time?" Minako asked bouncing over. **_How is she not tired?!_**

"Yes, I'm tired, but I really enjoyed myself. I feel a lot more free somehow. Does that make sense?"

"Haha, that's exactly how I felt the first time I came", Minako laughed, "It was like I had these moves hidden inside of me and I just needed to set them free. You were picking some of the moves up quickly, you'll soon be at the same level as me. I would be higher but I keep missing sessions, it's my own fault really, I just get caught up doing other things. Am I rambling again?"

Too tired to answer Usagi just nodded with a smile.

"I know you're tired today, but next week after class do you want to go for quick coffee or some lunch?" Minako asked.

"I'd love to", Usagi managed to get out, "that sounds great."

* * *

As she was slowly leaving the building, waving bye to Minako as she went, her bag started beeping.

"Ohhhhh, not now!" She said out loud. She dug through her bag and sure enough it was her communicator going off. She opened it and Mars' face came up on the screen.

"Get yourself to the Shopping centre car park quickly" And with that she signed off. **_She must still be mad at me about the meeting_**, Usagi pondered. She checked no one was about and changed into Sailor Moon. Hoping that by transforming she would have miraculously found some new energy she set off at a slow pace. Apparently she had no energy left to spare, she really had thrown herself into the class. Approaching the car park she could hear the noise of the fight ahead. Preparing herself she rounded the corner and saw a huge Dung-like beetle shoot little balls of energy at the rest of the Senshi.

"Oh you finally decided to show up!" Rei shouted at her.

Usagi sighed; she was far too tired to have this argument right now.

"Its weakness is its back legs, if we can somehow cut them off then it won't be able to turn and you can destroy it with your tiara." Mercury yelled from the other side of the car park.

Rei came up behind her and shoved her towards the massive beetle, "Go distract it."

Usagi fell over with the force of the push and out of the corner of her eye she could see Jupiter shaking her head. **_They have no faith in me_**, Usagi thought sadly. **_If I could only let them see how much I've improved, how I'm trying to get better, how I feel so much more connected to Sailor Moon now than I've ever been, they might actually treat me with the respect I deserve! _**As she was thinking this the large beetle decided to shoot one of its balls of energy at her. Looking up she saw it coming and closed her eyes, too exhausted to jump out of the way. **_Surely it can't hurt too bad_**, she cringed at herself. Bracing herself for impact, but receiving none she opened her eyes. Staring at her was Tuxedo Kamen. She hadn't even realised he had picked her up off the floor and had took her to the safety of a nearby wall.

"Tuxedo Kamen-sama", she said softly gazing up at him.

"Sailor Moon", he seemed lost for words for a second, "Jupiter has managed to cut off one of its back legs, you can use your tiara now." He managed to come out with.

Usagi nodded and looked over at the monster, it was screeching and trying unsuccessfully to turn around. She took her tiara and shouted "Moon tiara magic!" It flew out her hand and went straight into the huge beetle. With a large bang the beetle was gone and all that was left was dust. Her tiara returned to her hand and she looked back at Tuxedo Kamen, but he had already gone. "Typical", she muttered.

She turned around to go to her Senshi, but they were staring right at her.

"Hellllooo, anyone in there?" Rei asked, knocking on her head. "What were you thinking just sitting there on the floor? Have you lost your mind or do you just do that so he will save you?"

"What?!" Usagi spluttered.

"Sailor Moon you have to concentrate more!" Ami said on the attack now.

"You're turning into a liability, we know you lack fighting skills, but making yourself a target like that doesn't help at all." Jupiter said joining in.

"But I", Usagi managed before Rei cut her off.

"Look, either shape up or ship out." Ami gave Rei a look.

"What we're trying to say is", Ami said diplomatically, "We need to assess if you are still suitable to be the leader of the Senshi."

Usagi was speechless, **_are they really saying these words?_**

Jupiter chimed in: "Look, we're not trying to upset you, we just need to do what's best for the team, and at the moment you're our weakest link."

"And your strongest!" Usagi exclaimed, finding her voice, "I don't see any of you dusting a monster off!"

"We're not kicking you off the team, stop being so dramatic!" Rei shouted at her.

"So I'm allowed to fight with you all, well that's nice. Thanks for being so kind." Usagi replied sarcastically. "Luna made me leader for a reason."

"Well, Luna kind of agrees with us on this matter." Ami interjected. "She thinks your laziness isn't conducive to the team dynamic."

**_What does that even mean?_**

"So basically, you're telling me, because of my clumsiness, my laziness, my lateness and my stupidity you are taking the leadership off me." Usagi said slowly, like she wasn't believing the words coming out of her mouth.

"Pretty much yes. Pull yourself together, you're 16 now, you're going to have to grow up sometime." Rei spoke down at her.

Stepping away from the group Usagi looked at them with tears in her eyes. "You haven't seen anything have you? You just don't notice me anymore, as far as you're all concerned I haven't changed a bit since I was 14. Well you can keep your stupid leadership, and as far as I'm concerned there are only three people in your team now. I don't want any part of this. I thought you were my friends."

With that she ran off before they could reply.

Makoto looked uneasy. "We knew she wouldn't take it well, but I never expected her to leave the team."

Ami looked sad too: "She was really upset. What did she mean by we never notice her anymore?"

Rei said nothing, she just stared at the place where Usagi had last been standing. "Come on girls, let's get out of here, she won't stay away for long. We'll give her some time to cool down and I'm sure she'll come around. She never follows through on anything anyway."

* * *

As the Senshi walked off the man behind the wall thought about what he had just heard. Sailor Moon seemed pretty serious about leaving them. He wondered if he should find her and talk to her. Maybe not such a good idea right now, she'd probably just cry onto him. He couldn't help feeling like the Senshi were being too tough on her though. He had certainly noticed improvements, she hardly ever fell anymore and her fighting skills were definitely coming on, and more often than not she was pointing out things on the battlefield that the other three were missing. He had also noticed other improvements, like the shape of her body, and how long her legs had gotten, and how short that skirt really was, but maybe she hadn't been on about those changes, he grinned to himself. He would find Sailor Moon and let her know she wasn't on her own. The Senshi would still need her to destroy the monsters, so one way or another he was going to get her to those battles. On the plus side, it wouldn't hurt to spend a bit more time with her would it?


	4. Chapter 4 - An unexpected friend

AN: Thank you for all the lovely comments! I'm really enjoying writing the story, so I'm glad you're enjoying reading it! Here is a bit of the fall out of the Senshis argument.

* * *

Usagi tossed and turned all night, she couldn't sleep properly. She couldn't get the Senshis betrayal out of her mind. When she had arrived home yesterday she was tired and upset and went straight up to her room. Unable to sleep as it was still pretty early in the day and wanting to take her mind off things she decided to do her homework. Since Mamoru had been so kind to find that book for her she had nearly finished her paper on Macbeth and she was pretty proud of it. **_Ami-chan would be proud too,_** she thought, then tears came to her eyes and she got her physics book out. Here was a subject she hated! The baka was good at physics, well at least he always seemed to be carrying physics books about, which was strange since he was at uni studying to become a doctor. **_Why is _****_he_****_ on my mind?_**

Having eventually struggled through her homework for the next few days she had dinner with her family, and then attempted to sleep. Other than the obvious keeping her awake she was also wondering where Luna was. Had she already heard that Usagi had quit the team? She knew Luna would be disappointed in her, but she thought she would at least come talk to her about it.

She got up early the next day, sick of not being able to sleep, and managed to have breakfast with her family for the first time in months! She even left the house early and managed to have a slow walk to school. It was strange getting to class on time, if not slightly early, her classmates must have found it strange too since they were all staring at her like they couldn't believe their eyes.

She sat down and dropped her head onto her desk; this was going to be a bad day. Ms Haruna came in and did the register, when she heard Amis voice she looked up. Obviously Ami hadn't wanted to come speak to her because she wasn't in the classroom when Usagi arrived and she must have seen her at her desk. **_Well fine, I don't need to speak to them either, it's not like I have anything to say to them_**.

* * *

At lunchtime she wasn't really sure what to do. She asked Naru if she could have lunch with her and Umino. Naru seemed really happy about it.

"Usagi-chan I haven't had lunch with you in over a year! Have you fallen out with Mako-chan and Ami-chan?" Naru asked.

Not wanting to go into it she just confessed that she missed Naru-chan and wanted a change of scenery. As she was eating, listening to one of Uminos stories, she saw Mako and Ami sitting under a tree, they didn't look happy. In fact they looked miserable. Makoto looked over and Usagi quickly looked away, this was their choice not hers.

The day dragged on after lunch. Usagi was so tired; she tried hard not to nod off in the last lesson of the day.

"Tsukino-san what do you think?"

"Huh?" Usagis head shot up, "I'm sorry, can you repeat the question please?"

"I asked you what the term is for the bending of a light ray as it passes between materials of different densities." Her physics teacher repeated.

**_I know this! _**

"Refraction?" She replied with.

"Excellent Tsukino-san! I see you have been paying attention."

Usagi just smiled weakly, **_good thing I did that homework yesterday! _**

* * *

Eventually after school was finished she started to make her way home, but as she passed by the arcade she thought it would be a great idea to go in. She hadn't been in in a while and she could do with something fun, plus she had to tell Motoki how her first class had been.

She went in and sat at the counter, two seats down from where Mamoru was sitting with his usual coffee.

"Usagi-chan! How was it yesterday?" Motoki asked, looking pleased to see her.

"Ah Motoki-kun it was great! I learnt so much and I met a really nice girl called Mina there too, we're going for lunch next week after class!"

"Odango taking on extra credit classes? Surely this can't be right?!" Mamoru interjected.

"Nooo, she's joined a karate class ran by Kaiato." Motoki chuckled at his friend while Usagi looked furious.

"And why would it be such a surprise baka?!"

Ignoring her question he asked: "Why karate Odango? You can't be having to fight any men off."

She turned red with anger and her eyes slanted at him: "Just because you think yourself above me doesn't mean other men aren't normal! There are plenty of men after me thank you very much." She made up. **_Well there was Umino, but I suppose he doesn't count anymore since him and Naru-chan are a couple now_**, she thought and then frowned.

"Who?!" Mamoru demanded.

"Haha, calm down Mamoru, you almost sound jealous!" Motoki joked.

"No, it's just because I don't believe her." Mamoru replied smugly.

Usagi was about to reply when Motoki said: "Oh finally those kids have left. Usa we'll catch up later, I have to go clean that table up." And with that he dashed off to the other end of the arcade.

"But Motoki my milkshake!" She wined after him.

"Calm down Odango, he won't be long." Mamoru said rolling his eyes.

"Don't call me that!" She yelled at him.

At that moment Rei, Ami and Makoto walked into the arcade. Usagi immediately turned away and looked like she was very interested with the top of the counter. Mamoru watched as the girls looked over to Usagi, but instead of the usual greeting they went and sat in a booth over by the games. **_Very strange_**, he thought. Usagi hadn't looked at them either, **_what is going on?_** He moved over so he was sitting next to her.

"Problems Odango?"

"What? No. What problems?" she replied.

"Well it seems like your best friends in the whole wide world entered the arcade and you are acting like they don't even exist." Mamoru knew he was prying, and this was usually something he steered clear of. He knew only too well how much privacy meant to some people. But this was the Odango Atama, she was the happiest person he knew and she was _always_ with those girls. Something wasn't right here.

Usagi sighed. "We had a falling out."

"Surely you would have made up by now? Why don't you go over and apologise?" He suggested.

"Why do you assume it's me in the wrong!?"

"Oh, well, I don't know. You're teenagers; this can't be too serious, just go talk to them."

"I don't want to." And she looked so sad at this statement that he dropped his line of questioning. Obviously the girls must have done something pretty bad for Usagi to be reluctant to even see them.

"Usagi?" Came Makotos voice from behind them. Usagi looked up but didn't turn around.

"Errr, we were wondering if you wanted to come over and talk things over." Makoto continued.

Usagis eyes were welling up with tears and Mamoru suddenly felt very awkward. He wanted to tell Makoto to go away and stop upsetting her.

Usagi didn't look like she was going to reply anytime soon so Mamoru answered for her: "She doesn't have time now I'm afraid. She has a tutoring appointment with me; we were just meeting here before heading to hers.

"Tutoring appointment?" Makoto asked, turning her attention to him.

"Yeah, err, her parents are paying me to coach her a bit in the subjects she's behind in." He came out with.

Makoto looked surprised, "Well next time you're free then Usagi….", she said trailing off. She headed back over to the girls and was obviously replaying the message.

"Come on Odango, we'd better get out of here." He said turning to look at her. She was staring at him with her eyes still wet with unshed tears.

"Thank you", was all she said, but he felt how much it had meant to her.

"Well, whatever, anytime." He said playing it off. He didn't want her to realise he'd done it because he'd had an overwhelming urge to protect her. That would just give off all the wrong signals. **_Would it?_** His mind asked, but he decided to ignore that question for now.

He grabbed his bag and she hers and they left the arcade waving goodbye to Motoki who was staring at them weirdly.

"Bet he never thought he'd see the day we would leave the arcade together not arguing." Mamoru joked, hoping to alleviate Usagis mood.

"You didn't have to do that you know." She said quietly, looking at the ground.

"Well I did really, you weren't going to say anything and then she would have just been standing there annoying me." He answered.

She chuckled and he instantly felt better.

"Well, you owe me a coffee now Odango, I had to leave mine so I could walk you home." He commented, easing back into their old routine.

"You don't need to walk me home, and don't call me that name baka!" She replied, but he could tell she wasn't really angry at him this time.

"If they follow us to see if the story is true they should at least see us heading in the right direction. Plus, if I know where you live I can avoid it."

She thwacked him with her bag at that comment and stormed off ahead. He laughed and adjusted his pace to keep up with her slight increase. This girl was going to be the death of him.


	5. Chapter 5 - A new partnership

AN: Merry Christmas everyone!

Thank you to everyone who has reviewed/alerted/faved so far, it really means a lot. Now I can understand why other authors say it motivates them to write more.

A special shout out to Puffgirl1952 who had her birthday on Sunday!

This chapter is a little slower, we get to know Mina a little better and Usagi tries to work through some of her issues.

Enjoy and I hope you all had a lovely Christmas and have a great New Year!

* * *

As they approached her house things became a little awkward. He didn't want to walk her to her door in case her father saw him, and she didn't want him to walk her to her door for exactly the same reason. When it came to boys Usagis father wasn't particularly subtle. Once when she brought Umino over to work on a project with him her father questioned him over his intentions and then stared him out the house, and that was Umino! She didn't want to know what he would do if he saw her with Mamoru, Mamoru was in fact quite a bit older, 5 years to be exact, and she knew her father wouldn't be pleased. Not that there was anything going on, he was just walking her home, but he wouldn't see it that way.

She stopped on the corner at the top of her road and turned to face him. On his face could only be described as a look of relief. She giggled.

"Worried about something Mamoru-san?"

He had the grace to at least blush before he said: "Just worried you expected me to walk you to your door."

**_Well at least he's being honest_**, she thought. "Well don't worry; I don't expect anything from you." She said.

He felt slightly offended, like she'd just told him he wasn't good enough for her.

"I'll see you around Odango." He walked away raising his hand as a farewell.

Usagi was a little taken aback, but happy enough that she had been able to avoid talking to the girls. She was still annoyed at them, not annoyed, more like let down, disappointed, furious!

* * *

The rest of the week passed much as Monday had. She kept having lunch with Naru-chan and Umino at school and popping into the arcade on her way home. She had been a bit apprehensive that the girls would be there, but they hadn't made an appearance since Monday. She never stayed long at the arcade in case they did show up, but stayed long enough to have a chat with Motoki and to have a go on the Sailor V game. Mamoru was behaving a little strange, but she put that down to him being him. He didn't rise to her teasing and didn't initiate any arguments himself. Even though it had only been a week, she kind of missed their arguments, she felt like he had shut himself off from her a little bit. Never mind, she never cared before, it wasn't like she had to start caring now.

Saturday came and went and she still hadn't really made a decision on whether she would rejoin the Senshi or not. She wanted to stick by her word and let them see how they handled things without her, but at the same time she knew she couldn't leave them to fight on their own. They needed her whether they liked it or not, or whether they realised or not. They'd stabbed her in the back yet she knew she'd still be there for them. It was so frustrating; **_I wish I had someone I could talk to. _**

On Sunday Usagi woke feeling good for the first time that week. She was looking forward to karate and having lunch with Mina. She needed to work out some of the tension she'd been feeling this past week. Arriving at class she was pleased to see Mina already there. They had a great class, Usagi had pushed herself and she was pleased with the results, she was feeling a lot more confident about her combat skills and she'd only had two classes! Afterwards she showered and met Mina at the front of the building.

"So where do you want to go?" Usagi asked.

"There is this gorgeous little bistro style café a couple of streets away, the food is delicious and they do the most amazing cakes!" Mina replied.

"Sounds perfect!" Usagi enthused.

They walked down the streets and came to a café called Starlights. They settled themselves into a corner and went up to the counter to order. Usagi couldn't decide what she wanted, everything looked so nice! Eventually she decided on a pecan and maple croissant, with a chocolate cupcake for afters. She sat back down and smiled at Mina, "So what do you do when you're not kicking ass every Sunday?"

"Well, like you, I'm still in High school, but I'm only there half the time because I also model occasionally", Mina described with a huge smile on her face, "That's how I've missed so many classes. I used to try and do High school full time but I ended up missing so many classes that they gave my own personal tutor so that I didn't end up so far behind everyone else."

"That's amazing! I know a famous person!" Usagi exclaimed.

"Haha, I don't know if I'm famous, but I do really enjoy it."

"I think it's so cool! I wish I could only go to school part time."

"It is hard work though", Mina replied, "What do you do in your free time?"

"I don't really have free time as such, I have school and then sleeping and homework and you know, stuff." Usagi couldn't really explain that a lot of her time was taken up with Senshi work, meetings, battles, etc.

"Usagi you're so funny! No wonder you took up karate, you must have been so bored!"

Usagi laughed embarrassedly.

"What about your friends? Don't you go out with them?" Mina asked.

Usagi sighed. "I've kinda fallen out with my friends."

"Oh, that's not good, want to talk about it?" Mina sympathised.

Usagi explained what had happened, albeit with a completely different scene. She made up that it was an argument over study meetings and that the girls had basically accused her of being stupid and so she had decided to leave their study group and hadn't spoken to them since.

"Do you miss them?" Mina asked.

"I'm not sure, I'm so mad at them! And I feel really let down. After all these years and they don't even really know me? I'm just hurting I guess." It felt good to release some of her pent up feelings. She felt like she could trust Mina.

"I'm sure they didn't mean to offend you, I bet they feel really bad. I mean you said every time you've seen them since they've looked miserable. So I'm confident they'll come to their senses and apologise, and until then you've got me!" Mina said with a smile. She looked at her watch and looked up apologetically. "I'm sorry Usagi-chan, but I have a meeting with my publicist, here's my phone number", she scribbled it down on the napkin, "I've got to go now, so I'll see you next week?"

"Okay, I should probably get some work done anyway", Usagi agreed, passing Mina her phone number in return.

They went up and paid and left the shop together. Usagi tripped over the step as she was leaving and closed her eyes expecting to hit the ground with a bump when a pair of strong arms circled her waist and pulled her back up. She turned around and looked straight into a pair of midnight blue eyes.

"Mamoru-baka! Stalking me again!" Usagi yelled at him.

"Saving you again more like it Odango Atama!" He argued back.

"Don't call me that!"

"Errr Usagi-chan? Would you care to introduce me to your good looking friend?" Mina asked with hearts in her eyes.

"Good looking!" Usagi couldn't believe her ears.

"Finally someone who is making some sense" Mamoru teased and let Usagi go. He held out his hand to Mina. "Chiba Mamoru, and you are?"

"Aino Minako, pleased to meet you."

Usagi didn't like the way that Minako was looking at Mamoru, and she definitely didn't like the way he was lapping it up.

"Baka you have such a big ego! Minako-chan he's not worth your admiration. Ugh!" She stormed off telling Mina she would see her next week.

Mamoru chuckled at her reaction and excused himself from Mina. **_I'm glad she's found another friend, now maybe she'll be a little bit more upbeat_**, he thought to himself as he walked away.

* * *

Usagi was walking home through the park when she felt her phone vibrate. It was a txt from Mina. 'Usagi-chan your friend is so cute! Maybe you can convince him to join our class? Have a good week xx'. **_Ohh Mina how you are wrong!_** 'I wouldn't invite him if he was the last man on earth! Mina-chan you have no idea how irritating he is! xx' 'Seems to me like there is a thin line between love and hate Usagi! xx'. Usagi sighed at this and put her phone away, there was no point arguing, she would just explain to her the error of her ways next week. As she put her phone in her bag her comms device went off. She didn't answer it, but stared at it until it stopped going off. She felt so guilty. She dodged behind some bushes and transformed into Sailor Moon. Closing her eyes she tried to focus on sensing the monster. Having an inkling it was coming from the north of town she ran in that direction.

She heard the battle before she saw it. The monster had been trying to break into one of the factories to get energy from the workers. It was a tall womanly shaped figure with one arm in the shape of a sling shot and the other that kept producing balls of fire. She watched as the Sailor Senshi attempted to defeat it. Mercury had tried to freeze the balls of fire, but it didn't seem to be working, she could freeze the live one but as soon as the monster produced another one she would have to try to freeze it again and she just wasn't fast enough. Mars wasn't having any luck as none of her attacks had any effect on the monster, it seemed fire versus fire wasn't an option. Jupiter was having the most luck, but even she couldn't keep up with the constant barrage of fire balls.

Usagi desperately wanted to help them but something was holding her back. She felt movement behind her and looked around. Tuxedo-Kamen was standing next to her.

"I heard what they said to you last week." He said.

Usagi remained silent, watching the Senshi.

"I think they were too harsh on you. Maybe they need to see what it's like without you."

"But what can I do? I can hardly leave them like this, they'll die." She answered back.

"I think you can still save them, but I think you can become better. With the right training you can really show them how much you have improved. I think you have more potential. Tell me what you see."

"I see", Usagi concentrated, "I see a lack of teamwork. They should have realised by now that Mars' attack is ineffectual and that Mercury isn't able to keep up. They should be distracting the monster while Jupiter powers up and focuses her attack on the monsters weak point."

"Which would be?" He probed.

"Erm, at a guess I would maybe say its shoulder? Purely because if you take out the attack the monster is pretty helpless."

He nodded and said: "I would guess at as much myself. They should have listened to you more. Maybe you should put them out of their misery now."

Usagi nodded and reached up for her Tiara. With him standing behind her she felt unusually calm and powerful. She recited the mantra and her tiara flew out from between her fingers and destroyed the monster. Her tiara had never flown so straight or shined so bright. The Senshi looked over but Sailor Moon and Tuxedo-Kamen had already gone.

"Sailor Moon I'd like to work with you." Tuxedo-Kamen stated.

Usagi blushed, "I'd like to work with you too."

"We can train together, maybe work on some of your skills, I've worked alone for long enough to realise that a partner can be very useful." Tuxedo-Kamen explained.

Usagi nodded, she was honoured that he deemed her good enough to be his partner.

"We should meet at least two times a week, if not more. When you transform I can sense it, I wonder if you can sense when I change, and if that's the case we can work out some form of communication and meet on the basis of a transformation."

"That could work, but just in case, shall we say Wednesday evening around 6? We can meet in the park; it should be pretty empty by that time anyway." Usagi suggested.

Tuxedo nodded and said: "See you then Sailor Moon." He waved farewell and ran off.

Usagi transformed back and headed home with a big smile on her face. She was going to be working with Tuxedo-Kamen-sama! He was soo gorgeous and he wanted to work with _her_! **_I can't wait for Wednesday to arrive_**, she thought to herself.

* * *

On the other side of town on his apartment balcony a certain Chiba Mamoru had an equally big smile on his face. **_I can't wait for Wednesday to arrive_**, he thought to himself.


	6. Chapter 6 - An awkward embrace

AN: This chapter went in a total different direction from what I had originally planned, but I like it, always go with the flow!

This chapters shout out is to xx Twilight Princess xx who is one of my most frequent reviewers! Next time it could be you :)

Again, thank you all for your enthusiasm.

Sazbelle x

* * *

Usagi could barely contain her excitement as she had dinner that night with her brother and parents. She kept fidgeting and didn't eat very much because she couldn't stop thinking about Wednesday, granted it was still 3 days away but that wasn't stopping her from fantasising about how Tuxedo-Kamen and her would be all alone together. It was practically a date! **_No, no, I mustn't think like that, I have to take it seriously or else he might take all his nice words back._** He had thought she was clever, and he said he had noticed that she had improved, oh how she'd wanted to hug him when he said that! It almost_, almost_, made up for the fact that her Senshi had abandoned her.

"Usagi-oneesan?" Shingos voice brought her out of her thoughts.

"Whaat?" She said with a dim look on her face.

"Baka Usagi! You've been staring at that piece of fish for the last ten minutes, are you alright?" Shingo sounded a little worried. That woke Usagi up, Shingo never worried about her.

"Yes, yes, I'm fine. I was just thinking about…my English project for school!" She said with a big grin on her face. Who was she fooling; they were never going to believe that. Kenji, Ikuko and Shingo all just stared at her like she had gone mad.

"Errrm, errm", Usagi tried to think of a way to change the subject, "Any luck with jobs yet papa?"

"Mmmm, not so good. I've managed to secure a freelance position with another Magazine, but there still isn't a lot of work. It's not enough." He sighed. "Seeing as you've brought the subject up Usagi, your mother and I have set a deadline for when we really need to move out without losing too much of our savings as we will still need to pay for food and board at your aunts."

**_Oh no, oh no, this is way too soon_**. "But Papa I don't want to move!" Usagi blurted out.

"I know Usagi-chan, but this is the way things are. We have enough money left for another 6 weeks, but then we must really move on. This house has been a home to us, but we will do what we have to." Kenji sounded really stern but Usagi knew it was just because these were words he never wanted to have to say.

"I'm sorry." Usagi apologised.

* * *

After dinner Usagi got her phone out and txted Mina: 'Bad ending to a great day, dads just told us we have to move in 6 weeks if he doesn't find a job L, Usa xx'.

She got a reply almost immediately; 'Oh no! What does he do? Maybe I can get him a job through my contacts? Move to where? Hopefully not far away xx'.

'He's a photographer. To my aunts, she lives 4 hours away. It's not fair! xx'.

'I'll see what I can do, but chin up, be strong for your family. Hugs xx'.

Usagi smiled at the last txt, Mina was right; she couldn't let her family down just because she wanted to stay. It was so weird, she felt like she'd known Minako for much longer than just this last week. **_Maybe I'm projecting my feelings for Rei, Ami and Mako-chan onto her_**, Usagi mused before she went to sleep.

* * *

Monday dragged, she wasn't concentrating in class and headed straight home to sleep in the hope that Wednesday would come quicker. It didn't work, she just woke up really early on Tuesday morning. School went mind-numbingly slow, she felt like every second was a minute and every minute like an hour. Finally she was free, and not wanting to go to bed so early again she went to the arcade. As soon as she walked in Mina pounced on her.

"Minako-chan! What are you doing here?" Usagi exclaimed.

"USSAAAGGIIII! We have been waiting here for aaaages!" Mina shouted.

"Sorry? I came straight after school! What do you mean we?" Usagi asked.

"Me and", Minako gestured behind her. Usagi looked round but couldn't see anyone else.

"She means me Odango." Came a voice from the right of where she was looking.

"Mamoru-san? Why are you looking for me?"

"We have news, we have news, we have news!" Minako chanted whilst jumping up and down.

"You two have news?" Usagi was suddenly dreading the answer, **_what if they've got together? Not that I would care of course, but it's too soon, she doesn't know him, she doesn't know how annoying he is, or how he likes his coffee, or how to make him laugh, or or…_**

"Don't look so scared Odango Atama, it's about your father." Mamoru said.

"WE GOT HIM A JOB!" Minako yelled.

"WHAT! YOU GOT HIM A JOB!" Usagi yelled back. Then the girls hugged each other and danced up and down. Mamoru sighed and shook his head, typical Usagi, and by the looks of it she had found someone else just like her. He couldn't help but smile at the two of them though, their happiness was quite infectious.

Usagi calmed down slightly; "How have you got him a job?"

"Well," Mina replied, "I was worried after I got that txt from you on Sunday evening, so yesterday morning I spoke with my agent and he said he would see what he could do. He came back to me last night and suggested that I go talk to one of the modelling agencies I sometimes do work for. So I tottered on down and as I was going in the building I bumped into Mamoru-san here coming out!"

"You're a model?!" Usagi asked him confused.

"No, I just help them out occasionally; I used to work there part-time when I was younger. Would it have been that much of a shock if I had been a model Odango!" Mamoru said indignantly after seeing the look on Usagis face.

"Hahahaha, Mamoru-baka a model!" She was holding her sides in laughter. Mamoru went into a sulk.

"Well I didn't have to help; I could've just let you move away." He huffed.

Usagi became serious again, "So what happened next?"

"Well, after I got reacquainted with Mamoru-san he explained he used to work there and knew the manager so we went in and between the two of us convinced him to hire your dad as the new photographer!" Mina said happily.

"He's going to be taking pictures of models?" Usagi couldn't imagine her father doing that.

"No", Mamoru answered, "That doesn't compliment his skill set, he's going to be scouting for shoot locations. Finding places that suit the theme of the shoot. It's really good pay, but it will involve a lot of traveling. This isn't final yet though Odango, so don't get too excited. He still wants to meet your dad first to see if he would be suitable." He wasn't sure if Usagi would go for this, they wouldn't have to move but she wouldn't see her dad very often anymore.

Usagi was weighing up the pros and cons. This was very serious; it could mean the difference between moving away or hardly seeing her dad anymore. Deciding that really her dad should be the one to make the decision she smiled at the two of them.

"Thank you both so much, it means so much to me that you would do this for my family." Usagi had tears in her eyes. She had only known Mina less than a couple of weeks and she never expected this from Mamoru, why were they being so kind to her?

Mina bounced over and gave her a massive hug, she had seen her tears and didn't want her to cry, even if it was in happiness. There was something about Usagi that filled her with joy and seemed to take away the loneliness that Mina had felt ever since she'd dropped school hours to start her modelling career. She knew she would do almost anything for Usagi and it was a strange feeling, like she was someone very important to her.

Mina released her and said: "Usagi-chan I'm so happy I could help you", now she was holding back tears herself, "Maybe we can go for dinner or see a film on Friday? I have the night off for once!"

Usagi nodded and hugged Mina again as she announced she had to go. She watched her leave the arcade and turned to Mamoru.

She couldn't help but stare into his midnight blue eyes, she couldn't find the words to tell him that what he had done for her went above and beyond the relationship that the two of them had.

"Mamoru-san." She said softly.

His heart was beating like crazy in his chest, **_why is she looking at me like that? She's driving me insane with those eyes! _**

Usagi couldn't hold out any longer and hugged him. It was like an electric shock when she first touched him, reminiscent of the time he grabbed her arm in the library. Despite this the hug was obviously awkward for Mamoru who wasn't a fan of his personal space being invaded. She pulled away and couldn't bring herself to get lost in his eyes again, **_what is happening to me_**, she thought.

Her touch had sent his nerve endings into overload; this was Usagi for crying out loud, his Odango! **_His?_**

"A thank you will do just fine Odango", he smirked at her.

Blushing furiously at realising she had no real need to hug him she said: "Thank you, _Baka!_ Now I have to go see my dad!" She exclaimed and waved bye to Mamoru.

* * *

**_Ohhh, why did I have to hug him? That was so embarrassing!_** She thought to herself as she ran home. **_But his eyes and he smelt so nice! Ahh! I can't think about the baka this way, he's arrogant, mean, selfish… tall, handsome, surprisingly kind hearted. _**That train of thought wasn't helping. She tried to force her feelings for Mamoru out of her mind as she got closer to home, and in the process hadn't noticed that all thoughts of Tuxedo-Kamen and their meeting had vanished.

* * *

Back at the arcade Mamoru was trying to make sense of what had just happened when Ami, Rei and Makoto walked in.

"Hi Mamoru, have you seen Usagi today, or are you tutoring her later?" Makoto asked him politely.

"Err, yes I just saw her, she's had some good news, we might have found her father a job so she won't have to move away." He said without thinking.

"What? Move away?! Since when?" Rei snapped at him.

Mamoru groaned inwardly, he'd really put his foot in it here, he'd forgot momentarily that the girls weren't speaking. "Well really this is Usagis business", he said whilst edging away from the girls, "You should probably speak to her about it."

They looked sombre for a second, "She won't speak to us." Ami said quietly. The girls looked abashed.

"Look, Odango isn't the type to hold a grudge, I'm sure you didn't do something so awful that she'd never speak to you again."

"Could you speak to her for us Mamoru, she won't hear us out and we just need to talk to her." Makoto explained.

"Mako-chan, I'm not sure that's the way to go." Ami said. Mamoru agreed with her, he didn't want to get involved in this.

"She's just being stupid!" Rei let out, obviously frustrated that they were having to resort to asking Mamoru of all people to help them.

Feeling distinctly awkward right now Mamoru was glad when he felt Sailor Moons transformation. "I've got to go, see you around." He said to the girls and ran out the arcade.

"Well that was weird." Makoto said.

The girls communication devices went off at that moment and Luna came on the screens. "Everyone, get to the Nursery school, Sailor Moon is already here but I'm not sure she can defeat it on her own."

"Baka Usagi!" Said Rei.

"She can't take it on on her own", said Makoto, "When will she realise she needs us?"

With that the girls headed towards the fight.


	7. Chapter 7 - Burns

AN: Thank you so much for all the reviews, I love reading your takes on where the story is going and what you would have happen next!

Todays shout out is for LoveInTheBattleField, another one of my frequent reviewers!

Have a good week x

* * *

As Usagi was nearing her home she felt the pull of a monster. Despite desperately wanting to get home to give her family the good news she knew she had to go investigate if there was a monster. She went where her instinct was telling her and neared the nursery. **_If there is a monster terrorising those poor little children it doesn't know what's coming_**! She hid behind some bushes and transformed into Sailor Moon. She didn't see the cat sitting on the tree branches above her.

She ran into the main room of the nursery and shouted at the monster to gain its attention. The monster was aptly enough a large doll. It looked at Sailor Moon with big round eyes and huge smile on its plastic face.

"Play!" It shouted at Sailor Moon in a childlike voice.

Sailor Moon took a step back and tried to see if anyone had been injured as the doll lumbered towards her. It was slow moving and so Sailor Moon was able to jump around it and shoo some of the remaining children out the door. The two teachers left in the room were lying unconscious on the floor; they had been trying to defend the children. Unfortunately though some of the children were too scared too move and so were cowering under the small tables.

She turned her attention back to the doll again, thinking about how she could make it follow her outside and away from the children in the room. She let it get close enough to swipe her and then jumped out the way.

"Come on, come on…" She encouraged it.

A noise behind her startled her and she looked around, Luna had just come in through the window and landed on some toys and fallen over. Usagi tried not to laugh out loud, poor Luna!

"Luna, see if you can get those children out of here!" She ordered.

"Okay, Sailor Moon." Luna bounded over to the children and tried to nudge them out the door. As it turned out this wasn't the best of plans because the doll followed Luna shouting "Kitty, kitty!"

Usagi cursed, this was bad. Luckily just then Tuxedo-Kamen appeared with the Sailor Senshi on his heels.

"Tuxedo-kamen, throw your roses at the doll and we'll see if we can lure it outside. Senshi, help Luna get those children and the unconscious children out the back to safety, we'll meet you out the front." Sailor Moon commanded. Her tone and attitude were that of a leader.

Tuxedo-Kamen threw a flurry of roses at the dolls face and this enraged it, it screamed and with a surprising turn of pace ran after him and Sailor Moon. The Senshi meanwhile picked up the kids and the teachers and brought them out the back where the rest of the nursery could be found.

"Ami, stay with them, the children are scared." Rei ordered. Jupiter and Mars then ran through the building to the front where they found Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Kamen having a hard time with the doll. Tuxedos roses were bouncing off it and Sailor Moon didn't have enough time to get her tiara off and throw it, and as that was her only attack it seemed a bit useless.

Usagi wasn't pleased when Mars and Jupiter showed up; she could see they looked less than impressed.

Jupiter launched into her attack and Mars got hers ready, Jupiter's stunned the doll and then Mars sent off Burning Mandala. The doll went down and that's when they realised they had hit Sailor Moon. Jupiter gasped and went to run over to her when Tuxedo Kamen stopped her.

"Leave her; I shall see she is alright. You have done enough for one day." With that he picked her up and launched himself away.

* * *

Mars and Jupiter stood there, Jupiter worried and Mars feeling guilty. Projecting her guilt Mars said: "She should have got out the way faster, she knew what was coming."

"I thought she had improved, she certainly seemed like she knew what she was doing until she got into the battle; once again she proved she is useless." Jupiter said masking her worry with annoyance.

They stood there unsure what to do next until Mercury came round the corner. They left the Nursery and headed over to the temple; once they got there they changed back and sat down to have a meeting.

"That did not go well." Rei stated the obvious.

"We need to talk to her." Makoto added.

"Yes, this has definitely gone far enough girls." Luna's voice came from the doorway. "I have left you to it to sort your own differences out, but I can see it isn't working. I didn't want to take sides so I have been staying elsewhere. However, I cannot let this continue, you are meant to be a team and what I am seeing right now is a mess."

"It was never meant to go this far Luna." Ami explained.

"We didn't think she would get so offended, I mean she must know she isn't that good." Rei added.

"She may not be as good at fighting as the rest of you, but what else does she have to offer?" Luna asked them.

"Well, she's got great heart; she would always sacrifice herself for one of us." Makoto said.

"But what good is that!" Rei argued, "If she sacrifices herself then we don't have her to finish the enemy off anyway. She needs to be more level headed. She has got it in herself to be a great leader, but she's never going to get there if we don't push her."

"I'm afraid I'm agreed with that Luna", said Ami, "Usagi will never get any better or improve if we aren't harsh with her."

Plus," Mako added, "She really was getting on our nerves. She wasn't showing up to meetings, she claimed she was always tired or busy or this or that, she kept getting in the way in battles, we'd just had enough."

Luna nodded; they obviously weren't ready to see the bigger picture where Usagi was concerned. She wasn't a fighter, Luna could tell that now, and that made her think; if she wasn't a fighter, then what was she meant to be? "I can see you girls aren't going to change your minds anytime soon, all I can say is be prepared to be shocked by the girl who once called you her best friends." With that Luna left the girls to themselves.

* * *

Tuxedo-Kamen didn't know where to take her, but he had to get her there fast so he could help her. He decided that although it was risky he had to take her to his apartment; he had all his first aid stuff there and frankly the chances of her discovering who he was by seeing his apartment were very low, the only person to ever visit had been Motoki and he seriously doubted that he was Sailor Moon.

He landed with her in his arms onto his balcony and put her straight down on his couch. She hadn't stirred and this was worrying him. He checked her over. She had a really nasty burn down the entire right side of her body, her arm and leg were blistering red and her suit had burnt through to her skin. To her beautiful creamy soft skin. He couldn't think that now! She also had a burn on the right side of her face but it wasn't as bad, and on inspection of the back of her hand he could tell she had tried to shield herself.

He felt awful, he should have protected her, he should have saved her, he should have been there for her and that was why he had to be there for her now. His hands were trembling as he got out the first aid kit and read the manual on how to treat a burn. He was studying to be a doctor yet his mind had gone blank, this was a good omen for his future career he thought ironically.

**Stop the burning process – **Done, he'd removed her from Sailor Mars' attack.

**Remove any clothing or jewellery –** Ahh, this was slightly more difficult. He couldn't take her suit off in case she transformed back into her original form. Instead he cut around where the burn was on her side, making sure that if any was stuck to the burn he left it there and didn't remove it.

** Cool the burn with cool or lukewarm water – **He picked her up again and carried her into his shower. This was going to be the fastest way. He turned it on making sure it was cool water coming out then stood underneath it holding her. As the water touched her skin he saw her visibly shudder with relief and she started to move. Her eyes opened and she looked up at him.

**"**Tuxedo**-**Kamen-sama?" She asked.

"I'm here Sailor Moon." He said while stroking her wet hair. She looked so beautiful under the rivets of water. Drops of water cascading over her face and down her body. Her wet, lithe body pressed against him. **_Stop it!_** He mentally scolded himself.

"Where am I?" She asked.

"Erm, you're at my place. I needed to treat your burns." He explained nervously, wondering if she would be mad at him.

"Oh." She said simply. She went quiet and he continued holding her under the water for another 5 minutes before he brought her out.

**Keep yourself or the person warm – **How he wouldn't mind doing that!

**Cover the burn with cling film – **He helped her into the front room and ran into the kitchen to grab some cling film. As he went to wrap up her burns he could see that they were much much better.

"Accelerated healing." She said with a shrug. "But thank you anyway." Now she was blushing.

He got her blanket and towel and let her dry herself off.

"I will need to blindfold you to let you leave. I cannot risk my identity."

"I understand", she replied, "Just take me somewhere central and I'll make my own way home from there."

He gave her some time to get herself together, she had after all been soaking wet. He then gently tied a piece of cloth round her head and picked her up. He took her to the park and set her down.

"Thanks, I can make my way back from here. Are we still meeting tomorrow at 6?" She asked him.

"Definitely." He said perhaps a little too eagerly.

She smiled shyly at him and then went up on her tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek. "See you then, and thanks for today." She ran off into the darkness and left him standing there, touching his cheek where she had kissed him.


	8. Chapter 8 - Training

AN: Todays shout out goes to mychakk for their fantastic review! I love long reviews and peoples opinions on what's going to happen next or what they want to happen next, and sometimes...I get slightly influenced! So maybe soon some of you will see your ideas come to fruition!

Enjoy x

* * *

Usagi got home and lay down on her bed out of breath. She had been into Tuxedo-Kamens apartment! He must have some money, she thought, because everything was so modern. Although he had no taste in décor, everything was either grey or black, very depressing. The apartment gave off a sense of loneliness; there were no family photos or pictures at all. It was how she would expect a show home to look.

She felt sorry for him, but at the same time was somewhat shamefully pleased because it meant that maybe there was space for her in his life. That was if she ever found out who his identity was. Well, tomorrow she would be one step closer. **_Tomorrow will be a good day_**, she smiled to herself and drifted off to sleep, completely forgetting about telling her dad about the job opportunity.

* * *

The next morning she was woken up by her brother.

"Usagi-oneesan, wake up!" Shingo was whispering furiously into her ear.

"Ahh Shingo get off me!" Usagi yelled.

"Shhhh!" He said putting his hands over Usagis mouth, "Be quiet!"

Usagi quietened down; "What's the matter?" She asked quietly.

"Papa just got a call, he was very mysterious about it and wouldn't say who it was from, but he and mama have great big smiles on their faces. I think it might be about a job."

Usagi smiled, "I think I know what it's about." She explained what had happened to Shingo. He listened and when she was finished he dived on top of her and gave her a huge hug.

"Usagi-oneesan you are the best! I hope Papa does well in the interview. We won't have to move!" Shingo was ecstatic.

Usagi was happy too; her dad getting a job, Mina was her friend, she had a date, err a training session, with Tuxedo-Kamen, yes, things were definitely looking up!

* * *

Usagi went to school with a smile on her face and didn't even notice that Makoto and Ami were trying to get her attention in class. She was walking to her locker to get her lunch when they ambushed her.

"Usagi-chan, are you alright?" Makoto asked whilst blocking her way.

Usagi looked at her and Ami standing in her way. "Yes, I'm fine." She was a little confused. "Ohhh, you mean what happened last night?"

Ami nodded worriedly. "We were worried after Tuxedo-Kamen raced off with you."

"You mean after Rei managed to burn half my side off?!" Usagi countered. She wasn't going to let them make this about her and Tuxedo; this was about Reis lack of control and their issues with her. He didn't have anything to do with them.

Makoto went on the defensive: "If you hadn't tried to take that monster on by yourself then she wouldn't have had to come to your rescue."

"Look, I don't care that she 'came to my rescue' as you put it, but I don't appreciate her trying to take me out at the same time!" Usagi wasn't going to let this one go.

"She feels bad Usagi." Ami said.

"So she should."

"Usagi what is going on with you and Kamen? He can't be trusted; we don't know what his motivation is. Why does he help us? What does he get out of this? And him running straight off with you in his arms, what is going on? Do you know who he is? Does he know who you are?" Makoto clearly wanted some answers but Usagi was tired of this conversation now. They weren't going to take any responsibility for their actions so she didn't see why she was to share information with them.

"I don't care what you think; he is as motivated as we are. We want to protect people and that is all he has ever done. Open your eyes for once and don't be so distrustful."

"Usagi you are too trusting, you don't know anything about him." Ami argued.

"And you don't give anyone a chance! You didn't even give me a chance and you've known me for years! I'm not ready to have this argument with you now, and when I am ready to speak to you it will be on my terms, not yours. So leave me alone, I don't want to have anything to do with you."

Usagi was angry at them, angry at their insinuations and their lack of patience. She pushed past them and walked away fuming. She decided there on the spot that she was going to skip lunch and the rest of the day and go home. She wasn't in the mood to be in class with the both of them and frankly she didn't think she would be able to concentrate anyway.

She went into the toilets and wet her eyes and went to see Ms Haruna. She claimed she wasn't feeling well and wanted to go home. Ms Haruna believed her and wasn't too unhappy since Usagi had been doing a lot better in class lately.

* * *

When she got home both her parents were out, which meant she didn't have to continue with the charade of being ill. She flopped onto her bed and closed her eyes. It was now one in the afternoon and she didn't have to meet Tuxedo until six that evening so she wasn't rushed for time.

"Usagi-chan I'm disappointed in you. You shouldn't skip school, and you definitely shouldn't let your temper get the better of you."

Luna jumped down onto the bed as Usagi bolted upright at the sound of her voice.

"Luna!" She exclaimed and stroked the cats head, "I've really missed you."

"I missed you too Usagi-chan, but I didn't want to take sides during the disagreement you and the Senshi are having."

"I think it's beyond just a mere disagreement now Luna."

"I agree. I wonder what your thoughts are on it though? I've spoken to the girls and they seem to think that you will come around. I, however, think they hurt you more than they realise."

Usagi considered Luna's question. "I'm upset that they think so little of me, well, that they can't see how hard I'm trying. Ach, it's hard to explain. I've been feeling more and more like I am Sailor Moon and right when I think I'm getting it right and I'm trying so hard they turn around and say that I'm still the same girl I was at 14. They just, do they even know me? My own best friends and they can't see past their own preconceptions."

Luna sighed and nuzzled her head into Usagis hand. "That's what I was afraid of. Usagi-chan I don't want to tell you to go and make up with them because it would be a lie and the bitterness would just fester. I will only warn you not to let this take hold of you and become something much more serious. After all they are still your friends."

Usagi knew Luna was right. From her short conversation with Makoto and Ami where she had snapped at them she could tell it was eating at her.

"Yes, you're right Luna. I should have more patience with them, and I know they will eventually see me as I really am, but I want to have the satisfaction of proving it to them."

Luna was only mildly surprised at Usagis mature response; her charge had changed a lot since she had first become Sailor Moon. She jumped up onto the windowsill and said: "Usagi-chan I will see you as soon as I can, we have much to catch up on. I just wanted to make sure you were alright after last night. I have made some progress after having met another of my kind. His name is Artemis, but I will tell you more when I have some time. See you soon."

She jumped out and Usagi smiled at the thought of Luna having a mate, whichever way you looked at it.

* * *

It was five o'clock and she had had dinner and showered and agonised over what to wear until she remembered she was going as Sailor Moon so it wouldn't make a difference what she was wearing beforehand. She was agitated, **_why am I so bothered about seeing him again?_** She knew the answer, she just didn't want to admit it to herself; she had always had a crush on him but now she was falling for him.

She had made herself wait until half past 5 before heading out, it only took 15 minutes to get to the park but she couldn't hold on any longer. When she got there he was already waiting. Her heart lifted, he was as keen as she was!

"Hi." She said shyly.

"Hi", he replied with a confidence that came from nowhere, wasn't he the one after all that had arrived ridiculously early? "So, let's do this then. What are you like with one-to-one combat?"

"I'm so-so, I've been doing some stuff in my regular life to try and get better, but I could do with more practice."

"I feel like you often hold back when you're in a fight. You're so used to the other Senshi being the fighters that you almost take a step back and let them do it. With your tiara being your only weapon I think you should be more forward and go straight for the monsters. Otherwise you're just going to end up getting targeted all the time for being the one hiding at the back."

Sailor Moon nodded, she didn't like what he was saying but it was true. She was going to have to suck it up and take his advice. At least he didn't seem to be judging her; he was simply explaining what he could see. "Okay, how do you propose we go about this then?"

For the next hour they went back and forth. He was a surprisingly good teacher and very able. She didn't understand why he didn't do more in battles. He taught her how to dodge certain attacks, how to use her superpowers as an advantage, like high jumping and speed kicking, and how to know when it was the right time to pull back and go for her tiara.

After that they did some balance practice, he knew she wasn't as prone to falling over as she used to be, but she could be better. He also felt that she could be doing more with her tiara. She had already admitted to him that when he was standing behind her and she threw her tiara it had felt more powerful. He figured this was a good starting point. They stood next to each other and she threw it at some crude targets he had fashioned out of some wood. The first time she threw it she hit the target dead on and it exploded.

"Fantastic Sailor Moon!" He exclaimed.

"It didn't feel the same though", she tried to explain, "That was just how I always throw it, and I didn't feel the same power this time."

They tried it again and this time he stood more behind her. He stood still and willed her to be even more impressive than last time. As she pulled her tiara into her to throw it it began to glow brighter and her whole body tensed with power. As she released it it arced through the air and sparks flew off it. It hit the target and vaporised it.

She was so happy that she turned around and hugged him with joy. He held onto her and tried to memorise the feel of her hair through his fingers and the smell that lingered everywhere she went. She was heaven and hell at the same time because he knew that he could never have all of her. He was destined to only have her under the disguise of Tuxedo-Kamen and it wasn't enough for him. He wanted her as Chiba Mamoru, he wanted her all the time not some of the time, and not snatched moments like this.

She was losing herself in his firm grip; it was as if it was only them in the world. She never wanted him to let go, she had never felt right until right now in his arms. He was her everything, but was he? She knew nothing about the man making her feel like she loved him with everything she had but at the same time made her feel like her heart was breaking.

There was an undeniable connection between them and as they looked at each other she could see the desire in his eyes and he could see the longing in hers. He wanted her so badly it was driving him insane yet she had only been in his arms mere seconds. Was this what it was like to be in love? She brought her hand up to his cheek and that was when the spell broke. They pulled apart out of breath like they had lived through a lifetimes worth of emotions in those precious few seconds.

She had never felt like this before, her heart was racing and she wasn't sure what was going on. She had just wanted to share her joy with him. He felt like he had run a marathon. He had always been drawn to this girl but he had never felt anything like this before when he had held her.

"You, you made me feel so powerful. I just had to, had to…" She stammered.

He knew exactly what she meant, when she had tensed with power he had felt it as well, there was a deeper connection here than the two of them had realised before.

The tension between them was palpable and he could barely stand it.

He wanted to say something but he could see in her eyes that she could see straight through him. He gave her one last look that said he was just as lost as she was right now, but that this wasn't over.

He disappeared and her knees finally gave way.


	9. Chapter 9 - The Past

AN: This chapter goes out to everyone who has reviewed! We made it to the 50 mark :). This makes me v happy!

This chapter has a lot of description in it that I wanted to keep to a minimum, hence the small wait before I published it.

Enjoy! x

* * *

Usagi stayed sitting on the floor until Luna found her.

"Usagi-chan? Are you alright? Why are you sitting here on the floor in the middle of the park? It's quite late now you know."

"Hello Luna. Yes, well, I suppose it does look a little odd! I've just been training with Tuxedo-Kamen-sama and I was just really tired." Usagi didn't know if she could explain what actually happened, and she wasn't sure she wanted to. It felt incredibly private to her somehow, even though technically nothing had happened. She didn't know what was going on.

"Ah, how did it go?" Asked Luna.

"He's actually a lot better at fighting that we've ever given him credit for, and he's a great teacher. I certainly can't fault him. I think I will continue to train with him, I think I have a lot still to learn."

Luna nodded at her assessment and explained that she in turn had some things to talk to her about, but maybe they should head back to the house first. The two of them left the park and walked home together in companionable silence. Once they got home Luna got comfy on Usagis bed and began to talk.

"Na Usagi-chan, I know you've probably been wondering where I've been and what I've been up to." Usagi nodded her head, she had indeed been wondering what Luna had been doing.

"I told you earlier tonight that I had met another of my kind, Artemis. I suppose we found each other by accident. I was investigating one of the areas where the monsters seem to be coming from and he was looking around there as well. At first I just thought he was another cat, but he also has the half moon crescent on his forehead as well. I'm ashamed to say I was the first to make a move and speak to him, usually I am a lot more careful, but I confess I've been feeling a bit lonely ever since you girls have had your argument." Luna looked a bit sad and Usagi felt awful, she hadn't even thought about how it could affect Luna in that way.

"Luna…" She began, but Luna cut her off.

"Usagi, what's done is done and anyway, it's turned out for the best that I spoke to him. Suppose we had just watched each other for weeks and never said a thing! He is incredibly knowledgeable. He has reminded me of things I had totally forgotten from our past, and of things we should be doing."

Usagi knew a little of their past, and lately she had been having more dreams about their former life, but she was very eager to find out what this Artemis could tell them. As far as she knew, in the past they were Guardians of someone important and something had happened which lead them to awakening in this life now. It wasn't much to go on, but seeing as they couldn't remember anything none of them had really made any attempts to find out more.

"What does Artemis know?!" Usagi wanted to know.

"When he spoke to me about our previous lives I started to remember more and more." Luna explained.

She then went into more detail about what he had told her; the Moon Kingdom, the Royal Family, Beryl and her evil forces, the Queens final decision to send them all into the future to save them from death.

"She wanted you all to be able to live normal lives. She saw ultimately what the battle did to you all. Her daughter was killed in front of her, despite the Princes best efforts."

Usagi felt incredibly sad. Though she only had snippets of dream memories of this time Luna's words were striking a chord with her.

"Should we still be protecting the princess? I mean, if we were her protectors back then it would make sense that we would still have our powers if we were meant to be protecting her now."

"That is the conclusion Artemis and I came to as well. We should have been looking for her ever since you found out you were Sailor Moon Usagi-chan. You are the leader of the Senshi. Artemis' memories are a bit hazy when it comes to the Senshi and the Princess, but he is sure that with the title of Sailor Moon you must be the leader."

Usagi and Luna talked through most of the night about their past, the Princess and Beryl. They agreed that the forces they had been fighting with these past couple of years must be Beryl's forces having eventually tracked them down. They also decided that seeing as she had not made an appearance and as all the monsters seemed to do was collect energy that she had not awoken yet and her minions were collecting energy to wake her.

Luna also told her that although Artemis had many more memories than Luna he himself had only been 'awoken' a few months ago and had found his charge fairly soon after.

"What is she like? Which Sailor Senshi is she?" Usagi asked.

"She is Sailor Venus. She is quite confident in her abilities. I think you would get along well with her Usagi-chan." Luna replied.

Usagi eyes gleamed, "She's not the one Sailor V is based on is she?!" Usagi was quite excited now. "I know it's an old game but I think she's brilliant!"

"Usagi! You cannot base your opinions of this girl on a character from a video game!" Luna chided. "Also, I believe that game came out before she found out she was Sailor Venus, so it's probably based on you four girls."

Usagi nodded, she had assumed it was based on them, but it would have been cool if Sailor V had been a real person.

"So", Usagi changed the subject, "We need to find the Princess before Beryl awakens and protect her."

"Yes Usagi-chan, that will be our prerogative from now on. But you must understand that I will have to work with the girls as well as with you, they have a right to know all of this and we will find her faster with all of us looking."

Though she wasn't particularly happy about the Senshi being involved she knew Luna was right. They had a shared past.

* * *

She glanced at the clock wondering how much sleep she was going to get when she saw it was half 5 in the morning! "Ahh Luna! We've been talking for hours! I didn't realise what time it was, I'm going to have to shower and then go straight to school."

Usagi rushed around her room and went to shower. Luna settled down on the cushion on the windowsill and went to sleep; she didn't see why she shouldn't get any sleep just because they hadn't watched the time.

Usagi woke suddenly in the shower and realised she had fallen asleep standing up; **_this is going to be a good day _**she thought ironically. She got dressed and grabbed her school bag; she gave a fond look towards the cat sleeping in the morning light and went downstairs for breakfast. The rest of her family were already downstairs, **_how long did I sleep in the shower for?_**

She grabbed some toast.

"Usagi-chan, you were very late coming home last night." Her mother said.

"Mmmm, sorry Mama." She said between bites.

"We know you're 16 now, but that doesn't mean you can stay out until all times at night." Usagi's father was in the middle of telling his only daughter off when she remembered about the job offer.

"Papa! What happened with the interview for that modelling agency?!"

"The interview isn't until next week Usagi-chan." Her father replied, then seemed to realise something. "How did you know it was for a modelling agency?" He asked her suspiciously.

"Ah look at the time! Got to run!" She winked at Shingo and raced out the door.

Her parents rounded on Shingo and he slowly sank underneath the table.

* * *

She did her usual run towards school and bam – she ran straight into Mamoru as always. This time though she wasn't mad at him. She still felt like she had to do something for him because he went to so much trouble to try and get her dad a job.

"Sorry Mamoru-san!" She said cheerfully.

Taken aback by her bright smile and happy demeanour he took a step back and smiled uncertainly. "It's alright Odango." He said slowly. "You seem quite happy this morning despite being late as per usual."

He was trying to goad her into reacting but she wasn't biting this morning.

"Well, I still owe you big time for helping my family out." Her smile was creeping him out.

"You don't owe me anything, don't be silly."

"Of course I do, you didn't have to do anything. I mean we barely know each other and I'm sure you would be much happier without me running into you every morning."

He wasn't happy about this: "Odango I don't have many friends, so why would I want to lose one of the only ones to make me laugh on a daily basis?"

"You count me as one of your friends?" She said incredulously.

"Yes…am I not one of yours?"

She panicked: "Of course you are!" She said a bit too exuberantly.

He stepped away from her and looked a mixture of angry and upset and she knew straight away that she had hurt him. She was just taken aback by what he had said to her.

He quickly changed his face to impassive and said: "Whatever Usagi, see you around." He walked away without his usual wave and she smacked herself on the forehead. **_He never calls me Usagi, darn it, I have to get to school, but I can't leave it like this._**

"Mamoru!" She shouted as she ran after him.


	10. Chapter 10 - Tired

AN: Thanks again to everyone who has read/reviewed/faved/alerted this story. I love that you are all enjoying it so much, makes it worthwhile writing it!

This chapters shout-out goes to ombre1707 who needs to get her act in gear and leave a review! Love you and miss you!

Enjoy!

* * *

She caught up with him at the end of the street. He was steadfastly ignoring her and she had to grab his arm to make him look around.

"Mamoru-baka, stop behaving like you're 12!"

"What do you want Usagi?" He asked with a frown on his face.

If he had spoken to her like that two years ago she probably would have started crying, but she knew better now, and she knew him better. He didn't have many friends and she probably was one of the only people, except for Motoki, to talk to him on a daily basis. Yes, most of the time he teased and insulted her, but he never judged her seriously and lately he had saved her a couple of times. Maybe he was finally deciding to come out of his shell and be more vulnerable and she had just thrown it back in his face. No wonder his defences had come back up.

"First off, you don't call me Usagi, and you know it. Second, you're being ridiculous. I'll admit I was taken aback by your admission of our friendship, but only because I thought we didn't have that kind of relationship. BUT I would love to be your friend properly. God knows you need someone to take you down a peg or two! Now look, I didn't sleep at all last night, well I fell asleep in the shower, but I'm too tired to deal with you in a difficult mood."

A smile slowly grew on his face and he started to properly laugh.

"What?!" She asked indignantly.

"You fell asleep in the shower!" He kept laughing.

She slapped his arm, and then started laughing herself, it was kind of funny.

"We okay?" She asked.

He took a moment then said: "Odango what are you doing after school?"

"Nothing!" She replied, relieved that he wasn't going to stay angry.

"Meet me at the arcade and we can either go to the library and get some work done or we can go grab some food and decide what to do."

"I think I already know which option I'm going to choose!" She chuckled.

"Well, you may want to rethink that when your teacher gives you a mountain of extra work because you were so late to school."

"Ahhh, I'm going to have to run, see you later Mamo!"

* * *

**_Mamo? What on earth is Mamo? And did we just arrange a date tonight?_** She thought to herself as she ran the rest of the way to school.

Usagis teacher Ms Haruna did indeed give her extra homework to do, but only because Usagi begged her not to keep her after school instead.

As she was so tired the day passed really fast, probably, she thought, due to the fact that she was asleep during most of her lessons.

Ami and Makoto had tried to talk to her again during lunch but she told them truthfully that she was too tired to talk right now. She had to give them credit though, they weren't giving up.

She headed straight for the arcade after school and was quite happy to see Mamoru waiting at the counter.

"You were right Mamoru-san", she said walking up to him, "My teacher did give me extra work for being late."

He looked up as she sat down next to him. "Told you so."

"You can be quite childish you know!" She teased him. "So what did you want to do? I do need to do some work but I'm so tired I'm scared I'll fall asleep on you."

Images of her falling asleep on him raced through his mind. "Well we can cancel if you want, do this tomorrow?"

She was so tempted to say yes and go home and sleep for hours, but: "I'm already here now. We can mix work and pleasure; I've got an assignment to do for Biology on pollination, so could do with a look round the botanical gardens. Why don't we go there?"

"It's quite late now. It doesn't stay open long either. Look, I can tell you're tired. Why don't we go on Saturday? You can go home and get some sleep and we'll leave it for tonight."

She wasn't happy, but at the same time she was falling asleep as she was sitting there so she reluctantly had to agree. "Okay, Saturday it is."

She said goodbye and made her way home. She went straight to bed and was asleep before her head hit the pillow.

* * *

The next morning she got up and got ready for school. Waiting downstairs was a letter addressed to her. It was from Rei.

"Dear Usagi-chan,

Mamoru let slip that your dad was having issues finding a job. I know we're not speaking at the moment and we have our own things to deal with but I don't want your family to have to move away.

I can speak to my father and I am sure he can find your dad something; he seems to have connections everywhere.

Think about my offer.

Rei"

Usagi didn't know what to do so she just sat there and started to cry. For Rei to offer to speak to her dad was huge. They weren't on speaking terms and she hadn't seen her dad in years. For her to do this for Usagi really showed how much she did care for her. This was incredibly confusing, out of the three of them Rei was the one who was the most critical of her, the one who voiced her disapproval of her the most, she was the one who had seemed to sew the seed of doubt in the other two's minds.

Wondering if it was maybe a ruse to get her to talk to them again Usagi placed the letter carefully between her school books so it wouldn't get bent and dried the tears from her face.

She left the house without any food and headed towards school.

On the way there she received a txt on her phone:

'Hey, are we still on for food and film tonight? Mina x'

She replied back immediately:

'Yes, definitely! I need a bit of distraction, got loads to catch you up on!'

'Ooh sounds juicy! You know I'm all about the drama! See you later x'

Usagi had to smile at that last txt, Mina was indeed all about the drama and she was one of the biggest gossips she had ever met, she seemed to know everything about everyone's business.

Not particularly looking forward to school as she hadn't done any of the extra work Ms. Haruna had set her and still dwelling on Rei's letter she dragged her feet slowly hoping that she would somehow never get there.

Luckily, or not so luckily, she felt a monsters energy suddenly emerge nearby. Deciding that she would dodge into the alley and hide behind the big bin to transform she turned sideways and was hit full force by the monster running straight into her. She landed on the ground hard and not being Sailor Moon it hurt a lot more than usual.

"Ouuuch" she muttered rubbing her side. **_This monster is in so much trouble!_**

However it seemed that the monster had other ideas as it lunged at her and tried to pin her to the ground. Suddenly feeling very exposed and vulnerable she screamed out for help.

The monster, which was kind of like a big glove, tried to shut her up and that just made her scream even louder. When was someone going to show up?

It was then that she felt the monster begin to take her energy, her screams became quieter and she wasn't putting up a fight anymore. She was about to black out when the monster was wrenched off her and she could feel some of her energy come back.

She looked up and Tuxedo-Kamen was looking at her, looking at her weirdly. **_Oh no, oh no, he doesn't recognise me does he? _**He looked worried.

**_Odango, it's Odango. What if she's hurt? I need to get her to safety now_**. All these thoughts were running through Mamorus head as he tried to come to terms with the fact that it was him alone versus this monster and it was Usagi that it was after. He had never saved anyone on his own before and he'd definitely never had to save her before, which was a bit odd in itself considering how clumsy she is.

He had to get her away; she couldn't get caught up in a battle. He lifted her up and realised she was staring at him. Maybe she could read the worry in his face; he tried to look heroic instead.

**_Why is he now looking so stern? Maybe he's just a bit weird in the mornings_**. She thought as he jumped up over the alley wall with her and deposited her down safely on the other side.

"I'll come back for you." He said then ran off himself.

**_'I'll come back for you?' What am I? Her personal protector? Get a grip! _**He landed back in the alleyway and had to immediately bounce out the way as the monster was back up and apparently angry that it had lost its target. He started to fight with it, it was strong but he was quick and could get hits in while the monster was still trying to catch him.

Sailor Moon chose this moment to turn up. She looked a bit tired, but that was probably because she had been either still in bed or on the other side of town when he had tried to call her with his transformation.

She took her tiara off and threw it at the monster, but it didn't work. She looked really tired now.

"Sailor Moon!" She looked at him.

"Keep your eyes on mine." He said while locking eyes with her and dodging the monster. This wasn't easy but he knew he needed to give her that boost, to give her the energy to defeat this thing.

She kept her eyes on his and went to throw her tiara again. This time it shone brightly and the monster disintegrated. Feeling relieved that it had gone, he was distracted for a second by the dust that was left in its place and when he looked for her again she was gone. **_Strange, she usually hangs around; I wanted to arrange another meeting_**.

Shrugging his shoulders he jumped over the wall into the next alley to see if Usagi was alright. She looked more tired than she should. She smiled when she saw him though.

"Thank you, for saving me." She blushed slightly and cursed inwardly at how child like she must be looking. If she made a bad impression now how would they ever cope when they revealed their identities to each other. **_That's if we ever get that close_**, she thought.

This was too weird for him. How should he act?

"It's no problem. How are you feeling?"

"Fine now, a little drained, but I should be fine."

They looked at each other until it wasn't looking anymore it was staring. This was when he realised he really should have gone by now.

"Keep an eye on yourself, you never know what's round the corner." And with that he was gone.

She was quite relieved he was gone because now she didn't have to hide how tired she really was. After being drained and then having to enter into the fight. Luckily for her Tuxedo-Kamen had fought the monster down a bit and was doing a great job of distracting it which meant she just had to dust it with her tiara. It took it out of her though, she just about made it back round the corner to detransform before he jumped over the wall.

Now she could lie on the floor and try to get enough energy back so she could stand up.

Then she heard: "Odango?"


	11. Chapter 11 - The vision

AN: Sorry for the lack of updates, finding it hard to get from where we are in the story to the ending that I've got planned out.

Thanks to everyone for their reviews, it really is nice to read what people are saying and I am taking some ideas and opinions into account when writing these chapters.

* * *

He was concerned that she was vulnerable in such a state and so as soon as he got somewhere where he could change back into his normal clothes he ran back to the alley to 'accidentally' come upon her.

She looked worse than when he left her; maybe she had been hiding it from him. Now she was lying on the floor breathing in deep.

"Odango?" He moved closer and she looked up at him.

On his face could only be described as a look of horror. **_What is with all the men in my life turning up within minutes of each other? _**

"Mamoru-san, I was attacked by one of those monsters that are appearing all over the city. I was lucky though; Tuxedo-Kamen turned up and saved me."

He knelt down next to her. "Are you hurt?" He gently took her chin to get a better look at her.

"It took some of my energy. I feel weak." She was honest with him; it wasn't like she could think up anything different with him staring at her like that.

Did she like Mamoru that way? Yes he was good looking, yes he wasn't a jerk so much anymore, yes they were friends now, but he was still Mamoru.

Okay, so she was attracted to him, and she liked hanging round with him, but did she want more than just friendship?

"You should go home." He knew he liked her, he knew he'd liked her for a while, but she had still been a child until recently. When she turned 16 it was as if she had matured all at once and the girl that he had had a soft spot for had transformed into this stunning blonde who he couldn't keep away from.

"Will you help me get up?" He nodded and put one arm around her waist and one of her arms around his shoulder and stood up. She was pretty much leaning her whole body weight against him.

"Now I understand why people are always going to the hospital after being attacked by these monster things." She felt safe around him, like she did around Tuxedo-Kamen when she was Sailor Moon. Sometimes she still wished she didn't lead a double life or she could tell him this.

They started walking towards her house; they weren't far away as she hadn't actually got that far before the monster appeared. Once they got to hers he stopped and she looked at him.

"My parents are out today at a funeral and my brother is at school, so you don't need to be worried." She grinned.

"A funeral?"

"Yeah, one of my aunts friends who they were close to passed away last week. They left this morning to travel up to my aunts. They're staying over night and are coming back tomorrow evening sometime. The funeral's not actually until tomorrow but they wanted to spend some time with Aunt Iiuro." She trailed off realising she was babbling.

"Alright Odango, let's get you into bed then."

"You'd like that alright!" She was joking but quickly realised he probably had been imagining her in bed.

"Baka!" She slapped his arm when he didn't refute her claims.

"You were the one who just invited me in knowing your parents weren't back until tomorrow. Anyway, I'm a hot blooded male, what did you expect?"

Usagi didn't know what she was expecting but she knew he was teasing her so she contented herself with saying nothing but heaving a great sigh.

He helped her to her door and she fished her keys out of her bag. Once they were inside she explained where her bedroom was and before she could suggest how they were going to get up the stairs he picked her up and carried her upstairs.

He didn't put her down when they got up, he just asked which door was hers and then deposited her on her bed.

"Erm thanks?" She grinned.

"Not a problem Odango. So this is your room then?" He asked looking around.

"Yes, this is my room." She wondered if he thought it was childish. Pink wallpaper with bunnies on and a bedspread with her new Sailor V covers on it weren't particularly grown-up.

"I like it", he said, "It's very you." And he meant it; it felt like a very happy room. It was almost the complete opposite of his room, of his entire flat really, it was so colourful and yes a little childish but that was her personality to an extent.

He looked down at her and she had closed her eyes already.

"I'm not sleeping; I'm just resting my eyes." She murmured, knowing he was looking at her.

He grinned and suddenly had an irresistible urge to kiss her. He didn't know where it came from or why now. Maybe it was because he felt so comfortable around her, maybe it was because they were in her room, or maybe it was just because she looked simply gorgeous lying there, but he had to kiss her. Right here. Right now.

He bent down and pressed his lips to hers before he would have time to talk himself out of it.

As soon as they connected he felt a massive surge of energy pass through him to her and a vision of a woman suddenly appeared in front of him.

It was a woman shrouded in shadow who was unmistakeably beckoning him to her. He knew she needed his help, what for he didn't know, but he felt a very strong connection to her.

He jumped up away from the bed and saw Usagi staring at him.

"Sorry Usagi, I've got to go." He ran down the stairs and left before she could say anything.

* * *

He went over and over the vision as he made his way home as fast as he could. He was trying to make sense of it. This was a princess, he was sure of it. But the princess of where and how did he know? It sounded like some weird fairytale.

As soon as he got home he made himself a strong cup of coffee. This had to have been one of the strangest mornings of his life. First that monster attack on Usagi, and then he had kissed her, something he was definitely not prone to doing, and then the vision.

He really wished he had someone to talk to about this. Anyone would think he was mad though. Motoki was the only real friend he had to talk to, well except Usagi but he didn't even know if he could face her now. He needed someone who wouldn't judge him, someone who would actually take him seriously.

Then it came to him – Sailor Moon! Why didn't he think of her first? Okay so she might be busy right now, she obviously had to have a life, but he decided he would see if they could meet tonight. It wouldn't be a bad idea to do some training anyway.

* * *

Usagi was confused. One minute she had been lying on her bed with her eyes closed to try and get some rest, the next minute Mamoru was kissing her and then the next she was sitting up looking at an empty doorway.

She didn't feel tired anymore, as soon as he had kissed her she felt a surge of energy pass through him into her and it restored her back to her normal self. Maybe this was a Sailor Moon thing, maybe her alter ego had just taken the energy from him and this was why he had looked at her strangely and then ran off. Well it would make sense; she would probably try and get away if someone she had been kissing had been trying to steal her energy. Trust her Senshi powers to try and mess up her love life.

She hadn't expected the kiss though. **_Not that it wasn't nice_**, she smiled to herself.

Looking at her watch she realised if she hurried she probably wouldn't be that late to school, but she just couldn't be bothered. **_What would Ami-chan say?_**

Shaking her head as if to rid herself of thoughts of her former friends (she really didn't want to face thinking about the letter from Rei) she got her phone out and texted Mina:

'Hey, I know we're meeting tonight but I've had an awful morning and wondered if you were free for lunch instead? x'

She got a reply almost instantly:

'Just waiting for something like this to brighten my day up, I'm free all afternoon, meet in say half an hour at the fountain in the park?'

'Yep, see you there!' Usagi texted back.

* * *

Half an hour later and she was on her way, she'd grabbed a quick shower before she left because her hair was all messed up from this morning. She wasn't too worried about being late; she had a feeling Mina wasn't going to be on time either. She got there about ten minutes late and saw Mina sauntering up at the same time as well. Usagi was really happy to see her, she'd missed having someone to talk to, and she'd missed having her friends. She still wasn't used to being alone all the time and despite telling herself that they were the ones who had pushed her away; she was the one suffering on her own.

"Mina!" She shouted over to her.

"Usagi-chan" Mina said with a smile, "I was so glad you said let's meet now. I thought this was going to be the most boring afternoon in existence!"

Usagi chuckled at Minas over-exaggeration. "I've got so much to talk to you about."

They sat down next to the fountain and Usagi relayed everything that had happened this morning.

"And then he kissed you?!" Mina stood up and threw her hands in the air. "He kissed you!"

Usagi yanked Mina back down: "Yeah, then he ran away."

"He ran away?" Mina looked blank.

"Yes, but I don't know why." This wasn't strictly a lie; she wasn't a hundred percent sure why he had ran.

"But still, he kissed you, and he's so cute! Usagi-chan you need to go find him and tell him how you feel!"

"Minako-chan I can't do that." Usagi had gone bright red. "Anyway, I need you to read this letter I got this morning." She gave Mina Rei's letter in the hope of distracting her from the Mamoru situation.

Mina read the letter and looked up at Usagi. "Usagi-chan how does this make you feel?"

"I feel confused and upset. Have I made a huge mistake? Do you think I should go talk to her?"

"I don't know. It sounds like she's still holding out hope that you can get over your differences and become friends again. She obviously cares really strongly about you."

They talked for a while about what she should do, but Usagi couldn't come to any concrete conclusions. It all still felt too raw.

Mina kept trying to persuade her to go and see Mamoru, but that was the last thing Usagi wanted to do at the moment. They decided to postpone going to dinner that night because Mina had things to do that should have happened this morning but didn't for one reason or another and said they would txt each other when they were next free.

* * *

Usagi walked slowly back home wondering what she was going to do for the rest of the day. She had the house to herself because her parents were off at the funeral and Shingo wouldn't finish school for another couple of hours and then would no doubt be staying over at a friend of his. Usually at times like this she would have the girls over for a sleepover but Mina was too busy to organise things like that.

She decided that she would do the extra work that Ms Haruna had set her for being late the other day.

Bang on quarter past 3 Shingo barged through the front door and yelled for her.

"Usagiiii where are you?"

"Upstairs!"

He came to her room and stood in the doorway. "Baka Usagi, you're lucky I covered for you today and said you were ill."

"Thanks Shingo, I guess they gave you work for me?"

"Yep." He threw over a file.

"Oh, she's given me my Macbeth essay back." Usagi was pleasantly surprised, she'd received top marks. **_Wow, studying is paying off_**, she thought.

That night Shingo didn't go to his friends, he stayed in with Usagi and they watched some films together and ate noodles that she cooked for the both of them. It was possible, she mused to herself, that Shingo realised she was lonely and was staying with her to be nice. Either way she appreciated his company.

He headed up to bed at around eleven and she was going to go to bed after she'd finished washing their dinner plates up when she felt Tuxedo-Kamens transformation. She could tell he wanted to meet her. She sighed, he really did pick his moments, after the stress of this morning she was looking forward to going to bed.

She left the plates in the sink and slipped quietly out the front door, once she was far enough away from the house she transformed and went to meet Tuxedo-Kamen at the same place they trained last time.

* * *

He was already waiting for her when she got there. As per usual she felt a bit self-conscious when she saw him. **_How is it possible to like two guys so much at the same time?!_**

He smiled at her as she approached and said: "Thanks for coming to meet me; I wasn't sure if you would be able to sense that I wanted to see you."

"Yes, it seemed to work better than I thought it would. Why did you want to meet anyway?" She replied.

"Well", he hesitated, "I, erm, wanted to ask your opinion on something. It sounds really stupid but I thought you would be less likely to laugh at me and might be able to offer some advice."

Usagi was a little taken aback, Tuxedo-Kamen asking for her advice? This showed how much their relationship had changed.

"Of course, what is it?" She replied.

He could tell she hadn't been expecting him to ask for her advice. Maybe she didn't think he thought much of her opinions, but truth be told he thought a lot of what she had to say.

"This morning I had a vision. It was so strong it was so intense. It was only for a short moment, but it was the figure of a woman. She was in darkness, so I couldn't see her face or any defining features but she was calling me to her. She needed my help and I felt this really strong urge to go to her, and then it was over. I can't stop thinking about it; I really feel a strong connection to this woman." He looked at Sailor Moon helplessly.

"Have you ever had it before?"

"No, never."

"And since?"

"Nope."

"Could this woman be a projection of someone in your current life that needs your help?"

"I don't really have any female friends."

Usagi found this a bit odd but didn't want to make him feel uncomfortable. "Well maybe you need to wait and see if it happens again, or if you're able to recognise a link to someone in your life, past or present."

"You're probably right, but I just feel like she needs me now. Like I'm letting her down by not finding her and saving her."

"Do you think she's in trouble?"

"Yes. Why else would I have this vision of her calling me to her?"

"I don't know, this kind of thing was always Sailor Mars' strong point. She's so good at interpreting dreams and visions. She would always say you don't just have a vision for no reason. Whether it makes sense or not at the time, the meaning will always become clear in due time."

Tuxedo-Kamen nodded his head, he knew she was right but hearing that his only option was to wait and see if it meant something wasn't what he wanted to do. He didn't want to be frustrated at her though so didn't argue back. Instead he changed the subject. "Is there anything you want to work on tonight?"

Sailor Moon sensed that he obviously didn't want to talk about this any further so just went with it. "I liked that we covered everything last time. I definitely need to work on one to one combat, but I think maybe we need to work at being a team? I mean, I know we already are a team, but how can we compliment each other? Plus", and she really didn't want to bring this up, "after what happened last time at training, with all that energy and stuff", she was trying to be as vague as possible about their intense moment, "we are obviously stronger when we work together."

At this point she was beetroot red and he was having trouble looking at her.

"Okay, well let's start with the one to one and then see what we can come up with." He really didn't want to start off with them working side by side after what happened last time when she had hugged him.

They worked on her fighting skills and then he tested her balance again. After some awkward procrastination they talked about some team work and he helped her throw her tiara more powerfully again, but they didn't experience anything like they had the last time for which Tuxedo Kamen was grateful.

They said their goodbyes and Usagi went home feeling tired but happy and wondering if she was still going to the Botanical Gardens with Mamoru the next day.

* * *

Mamoru went home and dwelled on the vision he had had that morning. He had hoped talking to Sailor Moon about it would have helped, but she seemed as clueless about it as he was. He also wasn't sure if he should meet Usagi the following morning and go out with her for the day. It wasn't that he didn't want to see her; it was just that his feelings were all over the place.

**_Since when did I even have this many feelings?_** He asked himself that night as he stared into his mirror in the bathroom. **_I like Odango a lot, I have very strong emotions towards Sailor Moon and now there's this princess woman who I feel I need to help._**

He sighed and went into the bedroom. He was getting a headache and knew he had a sleepless night ahead of him.

He should never have said he would work with Sailor Moon.

He should never have started to make friends with Usagi.

He should never have had that stupid vision.

He slept in fits and bursts that night and all his dreams were dominated by the woman in darkness.


	12. Chapter 12 - Venus vs Mars

AN: Thanks again to everyone who reviewed. Let me know your thoughts on what's going the right way and what isn't! I like everyones opinions whether I agree with them or not! One of my reviewers told me off for waiting so long between posts and they were quite right so I wanted to get this one out as soon as I had written it!

* * *

"So", Rei said once Luna had left, "what do you think?"

"It's a lot of new information all at once." Makoto answered.

"Do you think we will get to meet Sailor Venus soon?" Ami asked.

Rei wasn't sure: "I'm sure we will meet her, but I don't think it will be soon. If this was us we would be wary of any new Sailor Senshi, we would want to find out more about them before we met them face to face."

Mako nodded in agreement; "She's never even participated in any of our battles yet, and I haven't seen anyone around watching either."

"How would we even know it was her watching us? You've seen how the press are always trying to get pictures of us. We even have our own fan clubs now, we would never be able to accurately ascertain whether it was her or not." Ami explained.

"I'll consult the fire and see if it can give us any clue to her identity or not. Even though Luna has told us as much as she feels comfortable telling us I get the feeling she's told Sailor Venus more about us. I bet it won't be too hard for her to figure out who we are." Rei contributed.

"Apparently it wasn't that hard, and you should take more care when talking about such things, anyone could walk in and hear."

The three girls almost fell over each other in their haste to turn around to see who was speaking to them. Standing in front of them was a tall, blonde-haired, blue-eyed goddess. Her hair went down to the backs of her knees and was held away from her face by a pretty red bow. Her eyes though sparkling in amusement at their reaction held a certain amount of maturity behind them. She was wearing a simple orange summer dress but it was obvious even to their untrained eyes that she had a figure of a model, she was slim but toned and looked every inch that of a film star.

"Who are you?" Makoto managed to get out.

"My name is Aino Minako, but you can call me Mina. I am Sailor Venus."

Mars stood up, instantly wary of the newcomer. "How do we know we can trust you?"

Mina eyed the girl up and down. "I could ask you the same question."

The girls looked at each other.

Mina continued: "How do I know I can trust the three girls that pushed their already fragile leader away from them? Away from the safety and comfort of friendship and trust and out into the harsh truths of loneliness and lies?"

Rei blanched at the bluntness of Minas question and Ami and Makoto looked away. But Rei was never one to back down from a fight.

"We will always and have always had her back. We want her to be the best she can be and she could never achieve that by us babysitting her."

"So instead of encouraging her and supporting her you pushed her away and tried to force it out of her."

Reis eyes flashed, "We never wanted to hurt her, we can see her potential and wanted to get the best out of her."

"Patience is a virtue." Mina replied.

"A virtue that we do not have time for. The attacks are getting more frequent, the enemy is getting stronger. The time is coming when something shall awaken and if we, if she, is not ready then we shall fall. We do not have time to go down the slow path of discovery and joy."

"You have seen something." It was not a question, but a statement that came from Minas mouth.

Rei looked away.

"Rei-chan?" Asked Ami, "What have you seen?"

"It is not set in stone." Rei answered.

The tension in the room was heavy. "Rei-chan, what have you seen?" Makoto repeated Amis question, static coming from her at the fact that her fellow Senshi had hidden something from them.

Rei looked back at them with the promise of tears glistening in her eyes. "I saw her death. I saw her die because we weren't strong enough, because we hadn't been able to defend her."

Makoto went white and Ami looked like she was going to throw up.

"This is why", Rei continued, "She needs to be stronger. She has to be able to protect herself."

She turned to Mina, "I am not going to stand-by and watch her die. If this means pushing her away from us then that's a danger I'm willing to participate in if it saves her life."

She wasn't looking to Mina for forgiveness or understanding. She didn't need this new Senshis acceptance of her behaviour. Until then only she had really understood her true intentions behind the decision to cast out Usagi.

Mina couldn't deny that she wasn't impressed by the young Priestess but she wasn't finished.

"You know only tough love Mars." Mina calling Rei by her Senshi name was the trigger. In a flash Sailor Mars was standing in Reis place and staring back at her was Sailor Venus.

"I do not care for your opinions Venus, they are neither asked for nor wanted."

"You are in danger of losing her. She believes you to think her weak, useless, a burden."

"And she will overcome this, she is stronger than you give her credit for. You do not know her."

"And what if she is weaker than you thought? What if the accusations you shoot her way are thoughts she has been having for months? What if she breaks?" Venus and Mars had ripples of anger coming off them in waves.

"Then we will be there to pick up the pieces." Ami interjected. "Though Jupiter and I may not have agreed with Reis decisions every time, we were in agreement that Usagi-chan needed to be pushed, we have always cared for her."

"Rei-chan," Makoto touched Sailor Mars' arm and she changed back, "You should have told us about the vision."

"I didn't want to make it real. I've been so worried about it becoming a reality that if I spoke the words it would be true and we would lose her forever." Reis voice was on the verge of breaking.

Mina had changed back as well. "I didn't want our first meeting to be like this, maybe we can have another try at it on a different day. However, for the foreseeable future you shouldn't be surprised to see me going into battle with Sailor Moon."

"That is your decision then? To go against the plans we have put into place? To further drive her away from us?" Reis emotions were still heightened.

"You have made your decision and I have made mine. We both have our own paths to take, you more than all should know this."

"But you are deliberately going against our wishes."

"Wishes that she be left alone struggling to deal with the loss of her friends?"

"You're twisting the situation!" Makoto spoke up. "We've all been trying to see her reach her potential, we know how great she can be. We've also been trying to speak to her, but she won't talk to us."

"That is exactly why she needs a friend right now and it is my choice to make. I would never push you further away from her, I want to bring us all together."

Mina turned to leave and was at the doorway before Ami said: "Minako, please keep her safe."

Mina nodded and walked away.

* * *

The very same morning Usagi had gone to the arcade in the hope that she hadn't completely scared Mamoru off with her energy stealing kiss.

When she got there his spot at the counter was conspicuously empty.

"Usagi-chan! I haven't seen you in over a week. Have you and the girls had a fight?"

"Hi Motoki-onii-san. Yes you must have realised by now that we aren't currently speaking, but I don't really want to go into that. Have you seen Mamoru-san by any chance?"

Motoki was dumbfounded, "You want to see Mamoru? You called him _Mamoru-san_? Usa-chan are you feeling alright?"

"Yes, fine. Mamoru was going to come with me to the Botanical Gardens today, but I don't know where he is, he's usually early to everything."

Motoki felt like the world was upside down; Usagi wasn't speaking to her friends but was apparently best friends with her until now mortal enemy. What was next? Was he going to encounter some flying pigs?

Just to check he looked out the window, but the sky was happily free of pigs. He looked back to Usagi and saw her shoulders drop and her eyes darken.

"Usa-chan, he'll be here, he's not that much of a jerk."

"No Motoki-kun, he would've been here by now. I think, I think I must've scared him." She shook her head not wanting to appear so upset in front of Motoki.

"Never mind, I'll just go and have a nice time by myself!"

Motoki could tell she was putting on a façade. "Usagi-chan, I can give him a ring if you want."

"No, don't ring him, don't worry! I'll see you later, bye!"

* * *

She waited until she was far enough away before collapsing onto a bench and wiping her eyes from the few tears that had slipped out. **_Why am I so upset?_** It had only been in the last couple of weeks that he had been nicer to her, before then he had always been Mamoru-baka. Why did she think he had changed? He was obviously only being nice to her because he felt bad for her. But maybe he had finally realised she wasn't a little kid anymore and had wanted to be friends with her, maybe even more if that kiss was anything to go by. And then she had to go ruin it with her stupid alter ego energy stealing ways. Ugh she was so frustrated with herself! Sailor Moon had taken her friends, had taken her normal life, and had now taken the possibility of a relationship.

She thought she was past this by now, she thought she had overcome the obstacles that being Sailor Moon had presented. It seemed she would always be fighting against the effects of being a Super Heroine.


	13. Chapter 13 - Venus revealed

AN: Thank you for the reviews everyone, I had just been reading them back for some motivation to get this chapter going in the direction I wanted.

The mention this chapter goes out to usagi-chibiusa for her lovely review a couple of chapters back!

Hope you're all well and you enjoy this next part!

* * *

Mamoru woke from his daydreaming by a sharp knock on the door. He looked over curiously and the knock came again, this time more impatient.

"Mamoru I know you're in there!"

What was Motoki doing here? Surely he didn't have any legitimate reason to come over on a Saturday. Wasn't he meant to be at work anyway?

"Mamoru let me in!"

Mamoru reluctantly went over to let him in, not looking forward to apparently being shouted at for no reason. He opened the door and Motoki stormed straight passed him and into the living room.

"And a good morning to you to Motoki." Mamoru said sarcastically. He didn't have time for Motokis little rants. He wanted to sit in the dark and figure out this strange vision of his. Since having it yesterday morning he had dreamt about the woman all night and couldn't get her out of his head. He needed to decipher what her message was and what she wanted him to do so that he could help her. It was starting to drive him a little mad and it had only been a day!

"Mamoru-san, what did you have planned with Usagi this morning?!"

"Usagi? Odango? Ohhhh shh-." How could he forget? He had meant it when he told her he would go with her to the Botanical Gardens. In fact he had been looking forward to it until that stupid stupid vision.

Motoki was taken aback by the look of horror on Mamorus face. He had expected his friend to laugh at the situation, make fun of Usagi for actually believing he would do something with her. Instead he looked appalled that he had forgotten about her. What was going on with these two? Had he missed something in their fights? Truth be told since she had fallen out with the girls he had barely seen her and Mamoru hadn't been complaining about her absence, maybe they _had_ been seeing each other? This was definitely a strange day for Motoki. He wondered if he needed a lie down.

"You really were going to meet her then?" Motoki questioned.

"I can't believe I forgot. Did you see her? Was she angry at me?" Mamoru realised he sounded a bit desperate. When had things changed so much that he cared about her opinion of him?

"She came into the arcade looking for you." Motoki answered slowly. "She wasn't angry, she seemed upset more than anything. I thought you were teasing her, leading her along a false trail?"

"No, no I kind of asked her out, well not asked her out!" He quickly tried to back track. "I mean I told her she was my friend and asked her if she wanted to do something as friends."

"You told her she was your friend?" Motoki said the words slowly as if they were foreign to him. "But you don't have friends Mamoru-san."

"That's nice coming from my supposed _best_ friend." Mamoru remarked.

"Well except for me you don't have friends. What happened to your incessant bickering?"

"I think we both just grew out of it, and I realised that she was quite fun, even when I was teasing her she always mostly took it good-naturedly."

That wasn't how Motoki remembered it but he wasn't about to point that out.

"So instead of teasing her you asked her out?"

"I didn't ask her out! I asked her if she wanted to do something as **friends**."

"Oh right, yeah, as friends. So what happened this morning then?" Deciding he was never going to understand this abrupt turn around in the behaviour of two of his closest friends he went down another path.

"I totally forgot. I've had…other things on my mind and I just forgot." Mamoru still looked ashamed so Motoki decided not to be too harsh on him.

"Well look, she seemed upset so why don't you just go and find her and apologise."

Mamoru hesitated. How was he meant to explain to his friend that it wasn't just that easy? He'd kissed her and then ran off and left her staring at his hasty retreat, and now that he had this 'dream' woman to focus on he wasn't sure if he should even be seeing Usagi at all. He'd had this vision when he had made a move on her and it only made sense that he'd had the vision so that he would help the woman and not be with anyone else.

So really, he didn't want to go and chase after her, his life was complicated enough without his relationship with Odango messing things up.

He needed some space, he had liked their new relationship and friendship with her was like never being on your own again, she could cheer him up with a simple smile. It was obvious, well to him at least, that he shouldn't take things further with her, at least not until he had solved this weird dilemma.

"Mamoru?" Motoki questioned his best friend.

"Motoki-kun it's not as easy as it sounds." Mamoru replied.

"Sure it is, you go find her and say sorry."

"And then what? I'm not going to give her any false impressions." Mamoru was slowly losing his patience. **_Why do I owe anybody an explanation?_**

"I didn't think false impressions were necessary?" Motoki couldn't understand his friend, he was hot then cold in an instant.

"Look Motoki-kun, I'm not going to go hunt her out but I'm not going to avoid her either. We're just friends and I'll apologise to her the next time I see her, but I'm not going out of my way."

Motoki realised this was as much as he was going to get out of Mamoru for now. His friend could be such an idiot sometimes, he probably had no clue as to how upset Usagi actually was. "Fine, well just try not to upset her anymore right? I'll see you later in the week then."

Motoki left without waiting for a response and Mamoru sat down and sighed heavily. **_When did my life start getting so complicated?_**

* * *

Usagi meanwhile had decided she didn't want to go to the Gardens if she was going to have to go on her own. At that precise moment in time she really regretted having fought with the girls. Even if she would have to swallow her pride and keep her sadness hidden inside it might be worth it to have their company back again. She missed Reis passion for everything and her hot temper, despite mostly being on the receiving end of it. She missed Amis advice and her quick wit. She missed Makotos warmth and her entertaining stories, never mind her yummy food! Most of all though, she missed being included and loved by them, they would have cheered her up after Mamoru stood her up, sure they might have teased her but they would have been there for her and she wouldn't been feeling so alone right now.

She got up and started walking. She didn't know where she was heading but she just wanted to get away from the centre of town.

She had only walked for about ten minutes when she heard shouting from behind her: "Usagi-chan, wait up!"

She turned around and saw Mina running towards her, her long blonde hair flowing out behind her. She really was stunning; **_maybe Mamoru would rather be with someone like her than me?_**

Despite her thoughts she couldn't keep the smile from her face as Mina finally caught up with her.

"Hi Mina-chan, I thought you were busy today?"

"I moved some stuff around. Usagi-chan I need to talk to you about something important." Mina got straight to the point.

"Important? What is it?"

At that moment Usagi felt the wind change and she instinctively knew a monster was after energy again. **_This is too soon, why are their attacks more frequent now?_**

"Ah sorry Minako-chan, I have to go, I'll explain later." Usagi had no choice but to turn to leave.

"Usagi I have to talk to you before you go." Mina had a hold of her arm.

"I'm really sorry but this is more important, I know it seems stupid but I have to go right now this minute." Usagi wanted to explain but she knew she couldn't.

"I know, I know how important it is, we need to go together." Mina said.

Usagi locked eyes with Minako and was hesitant. "Where do we need to go together?"

"I wanted to be able to take the time to explain it myself to you, but it seems their inconvenient timing has forced the matter." Minako looked around to make sure they were all on their own and then took a small pen like object out of her pocket and shouted 'Venus Star Power!'

A couple of flashes of light later and Sailor Venus was standing in front of Usagi.

Usagi did a double take. Minako was Sailor Venus. Minako is the one Luna had told her about. Her friend Minako, the one she'd only just met, the one she'd gotten close to, the one she'd talked to about all her problems was another Senshi.

**_Do I just attract all the superheroes in this city? _**Usagi thought ironically.

"How long have you known I was Sailor Moon? Usagi asked suspiciously. She was guarded now, as much as she liked Mina now she wasn't sure how far she could trust her. Had she been talking to the others?

Venus bowed her head in shame. "From the first time I met you Usagi-chan. This was why I wanted to talk to you first, explain myself."

A scream pierced the air.

"Well it doesn't seem like now is the right time." Usagi said and then in a flash Sailor Moon stood in her place.

* * *

They both ran towards the sound of the scream, Usagi knew there was a posh building in this area where some of the girls from school with richer parents were sent in the afternoons for schooling on how to behave in high society. She was glad her parents weren't rich, and that hopefully even if they were they wouldn't send her to something like this.

As she anticipated: the screams, as they were now, were coming from the building. It had large marble arched gates which looked completely out of place but impressive nonetheless. Sailor Moon and Sailor Venus took long run ups and vaulted easily over the wall to the other side of the gates. Landing hard on the grass and almost falling over, but managing to keep her slightly wobbly balance at the last minute, Sailor Moon did a once over of the site.

The building itself was uninteresting; it was a plain up and down concrete creation with little detail given to well any of it really. Usagi couldn't understand why you would have the huge marble gates to go with a building like this, but she didn't have the time to understand architects.

She could see the broken window on the 3rd floor and apparently Venus had as well because she said: "Third floor, let's go."

Usagi obeyed and followed Sailor Venus as she ran through the entrance and passed the first of the students leaving the building scared. Surprised that the evacuation hadn't already started by the time they got there Usagi took the time to stop at the bottom of the stairwell and punch through the safety glass on the fire alarm. Immediately the sirens went off and the students started moving faster.

She raced up the stairs after Venus who was now a flight ahead of her and arrived only slightly out of breath on the third floor.

Sailor Moon could hear Venus' attack from the room ahead of her to the left, she ran over and saw as the Crescent Beam Venus had conjured went straight into the heart of the youma.

Usagi looked away at the bright flash and when she looked back the youma was considerably hurt. At least she assumed it was hurt, she hadn't seen it beforehand so it was difficult to gage whether it was meant to only have one arm and a slice of its torso missing.

Usagi went to grab her tiara but she didn't get a chance before she was thrown sideways into the teachers' desk. She shook her head slightly to get back into focus and immediately had to throw herself backwards. Another monster had entered the room behind her and after throwing her into the desk had gone to smash its mallet shaped fist into her body.

Sailor Moon was now up against the blackboard at the front of the room, her side hurt and she needed a minute to understand the scene unfolding in front of her but didn't get a chance because the first youma was now firing something at her from its one good arm. She jumped over the second monster which still had its fist imbedded in what was left of the desk. She landed behind it and had to narrowly avoid Sailor Venus' unconscious body on the floor. Usagi didn't know when Mina had gone down, she hadn't seen a thing. She didn't have time to check on her however because now both monsters were facing her and she had nowhere to go.

She ducked the incoming fist and dodged what she now realised were chocolate bars that were still being fired at her. As soon as they hit anything they burst into flames and Usagi was worried that she would end up being stuck in a burning building. **_Sailor Mercury would be quite handy right about now_**, Usagi thought as she dove under the second monsters legs and crawled out the door.

She didn't want to leave Mina but the next best thing she could do was to lead the youmas away from her. She got to her feet and hearing them scream after her she all but threw herself down the staircase and out the front door. Looking behind her she ran smack bang into Sailor Jupiter.

"Sailor Moon? Are you alright?" Jupiter looked worried.

"Jupiter, there are two of them, Sailor Venus wounded one of them but it can still attack. They're not far behind me, we don't have much time. Where is everyone else?"

If Makoto was surprised by Usagi talking to her she didn't show it.

"They're not here yet. But they won't be long. Where is…"

Sailor Jupiter didn't have time to finish her sentence as the two monsters emerged at that moment and charged at the two of them.

Jupiter grabbed Sailor Moons arm and flung her out the way and then shouted "Supreme Thunder!" The two youma crashed into Sailor Jupiter just as the lightning hit her tiara. They bounced off her singeing.

Sailor Moon already had her tiara ready and threw it into the one with the firing device, it burst into flames and then turned into dust. She caught her tiara and was about to throw it at the other youma when Jupiter shouted: "Behind you!"

Sailor Moon turned just in time to see her tiara get kicked out of her hand and then she was hit in the side of the head. She went down to the ground dizzy. The floor was moving in front of her eyes and she could hear a buzzing in her ears. Another blow connected with her stomach and she was thrown up off the ground and landed towards the marble gates. Stirring feebly she tried to get up but there was a shadow over her already and a voice came:

"So this is the alleged leader of the Senshi. Pathetic."

Whoever it was stood heavily on her back and pushed her face into the dirt.

"Burning Mandala!"

Usagi felt a rush of hot air fly over her and the pressure went off her back. She rolled over gasping and saw Sailor Mercury looking at her worriedly, Sailor Mars was standing next to her but in the blink of an eye she was gone and Usagi knew she had gone to help Sailor Jupiter.

She turned the other way and could see flashes of white, red and green. Her vision was still blurry and her head hurt like hell but she had to get up. Mercury helped her to her feet but seemed too scared to actually say anything to her.

Sailor Moon couldn't look at her because she knew her emotions would get the better of her if she did. "Please, go help them, find out what's happening."

Mercury ran off and Sailor Moon started lamely after her. Her side still hurt as from where she had fallen into the desk and when she brought her glove up it had blood on it. She stumbled and Tuxedo Kamen was there, he was always there when she needed him.

"Tuxedo Kamen-sama". She breathed out.

"You're hurt."

"I'll be okay, I always get in the way of them." She was frustrated with herself. "But there are others who need your help."

"Right now you are more helpless than they are, they're fighting, there is nothing I can do for them right now."

Sailor Moon gritted her teeth, 'helpless' so that's how she seemed. "Not them" she ground out. As if sensing her mood his hands lifted ever so slightly from around her waist. "Sailor Venus is on the third floor, she's unconscious and the room is on fire, I need you to save her."

"Another Senshi?" He asked incredulously. **_Where are they coming from?! _**He thought.

He took his arms from around her slowly so she wouldn't fall back over and took off at a great pace towards the now obviously burning building. He skipped round the battle raging at the entrance and practically flew up the three flights of stairs. There was noone in the room ahead but when he went into the one on the left it bore the unmistakeable signs of a battle. There was a smashed up desk and most of the room was ablaze. Lying on the floor with her fuku half burnt, a line of blood coming from her mouth and what looked like a nasty cut to her arm was another Senshi. She was stunning with her golden hair fanned out around her head and as he got closer to her she opened her eyes.

She smiled at him and his heart began to race, was this the girl from his dreams?


End file.
